Leaving the past behind
by niennaxearendur
Summary: Lillieth and her friend leave Mirkwood for the safety of Loth Lorien to escape Lillieth's troubled past. Will Haldir be able to make her forget her past and live a happy life. Haldir/OC.
1. Chapter 1- Arriving in Lorien

**A/N: Here is the first chapter, of my first story. I hope you like it and please don't forget to review it, as it will help me make the story better for you and improve anything if need be.**

**I do not own the Lord of the Rings or any of Tolkiens Characters. I only own my own characters.**

_Chapter 1_

"I really don't know if leaving Mirkwood was such a good idea" Lillieth sighed. Eärendur, her lifelong friend suggested they leave the vast forests of Mirkwood for the Safety of Loth Lórien. It is here that the 'Lady of Light' takes residence, he believed she could keep her safe.  
"It is for your own safety, Lillieth. Please trust me, he cannot harm you there". She smiled in response. She was just thankful that someone was there to care for her, even though he was an ellon. They left Mirkwood by boat not long ago and were travelling along the Anduin River towards Lórien, this way they would avoid confrontation with any orcs that may be hiding in the area. After Sauron's defeat they scattered the land and were leaderless, but still a threat.

Eärendur looked at his friend with admiration, even after what she has been through she still looked beautiful. Even though most elves he has ever seen had dark hair, hers seemed to be richer in colour, he appreciated this about his friend. Her eyes were a piercing green, which seemed to glow like the trees which made up the forest. But most of all her rosy cheeks added warmth to her pale complexion.  
It seemed like forever they had travelled when what they perceived to be Lórien came into sight. "_Na vedui_! [At Last!] Lórien!" proclaimed Eärendur. To her it seemed to be like any ordinary forest, she thought as they came onto land and stepped out of the boat. Her mind wandered back to her home and whether she should have left, a knot grew in her stomach in anticipation. "Lillieth, come on!" he was right, they best make their way to Caras Galadhon to speak with Lady Galadriel. She walked behind Eärendur in an almost dazed state and noticed that he had suddenly stopped. "Eärendur?" questioned Lillieth. Eärendur turned to look at her with a cautious look on his face.  
"_Av-'osto pinig_ [Don't be afraid little one]" He spoke softly. It was then she noticed several figures emerging from the forest around them, as if from nowhere. The figures had their bows drawn at them. A wave of fear passed over her as an ellon approached her.  
"_Man ci_? [Who are you?]" Asked one of the wardens with a stern look on his face.  
"I am Eärendur and this is Lillieth, we are your kin from Mirkwood. We wish to speak with Lady Galadriel" answered Eärendur.  
"Why do you wish to speak with her?" said the other warden, he seemed more friendly than the other.  
"It is a rather personal matter, we will cause no trouble here" he replied.  
"Very well then, follow us. I am Orophin and that is my brother Rumil, we are two of the protectors of this land" the one warden stated. "Carry on the lookout while we escort our guests" ordered Orophin to the other wardens. They lead the way further into the forest where the true beauty of Lórien revealed itself, Lillieth was surprised and regretted thinking her earlier thought. It was nothing like anything she had ever seen before, the trees seemed to glow, it was magnificent. She was still apprehensive about meeting Lady Galadriel, she had heard tales of her back home, of her beauty and power.  
Eärendur placed a hand upon her shoulder to comfort her, she relaxed under his touch. The ellon who introduced himself to them as Orophin spoke. "You two seem close, are you betrothed to each other?".  
"Nay, I am her childhood friend and bodyguard. We are more like siblings" replied Eärendur.  
"My apologies, I did not mean to offend you." Replied Orophin with his head bowed.  
"It is quite alright, there is no need to apologise" said Eärendur with a friendly smile.

The small group arrived at the entrance to Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn's dwelling in the middle of Caras Galadhon. This time Rumil spoke up "This is the dwelling of our Lord and Lady, follow us inside". They made their way into the large hall where they would await the arrival of the Lord and Lady.  
" 'Quel re [good day], Welcome to Lórien, our kin from Mirkwood. What brings you here to us?" a dreamy voice asked from the great hall which stood in front of them, it was the voice of authority, the Lady of the land.  
"Lady Galadriel, Lord Celeborn. We don't mean to bother you but we were looking to stay here in Lórien for a while, there has been some trouble back home regarding my friend here. We will offer you anything you wish in return" answered Eärendur as he bowed to the Lord and lady in front of him. He knew how to speak to nobility because he grew up with Lillieth and her parentse H, who were a high and well respected family in Mirkwood. But little did he know that Lady Galadriel could read his mind, as he did not hide it from her. A pained expression came upon her face as she discovered the true nature of their arrival.  
Lillieth looked on in amazement as Lady Galadriel walked towards her, she was in awe of the beauty she beheld. Her long silvery hair, her pale skin which seemed to glow and just her sheer presence entranced her. Galadriel placed her hand below Lillieth's chin and bought her head up to match her gaze. " You and your friend can stay here as long as you need to, you will be safe here." Turning towards Eärendur she requested "The only thing I ask, is you will help our March warden and our people to protect this land, other than that we will provide you with everything you need".  
"_Ni 'lassui_, _Hiril nín_ [Thank you, my lady], I will gladly help you." He replied bowing to her once more.  
"The pleasure is all mine my friend, I do hope you will join us tomorrow in our celebrations. We are holding a banquet and dance for those leaving us for Valinor." Galadriel spoke.  
Suddenly Lillieth heard a voice in her head, she knew it belonged to the Lady Galadriel. "I see great sorrow in your mind, but do not worry all will be well here. I will keep you safe". Lillieth smiled at the lady of light before her, she then had hope that her past was truly behind her.  
"We will join you my lady, thank you" whispered Lillieth.  
"Rumil, Orophin! Show them to their talans and give them a tour of Caras Galadhon." ordered Celeborn. Soon after he bowed and departed, they thought he must have some important issues to deal with at the end of the walkway he turned to them and confirmed this. "Please excuse me, I have business to attend to, I do hope to see you at our feast tomorrow" he then took his exit.  
"Wait my friends, you are needed on the borders. I will get Nienna, to attend to them. She is the best tailor and healer in Lórien. Come I will take you to her" proclaimed Galadriel. They followed her orders and went back to the border where duty awaited them. Lillieth and Eärendur followed Galadriel through the great hall in which everything was intricately carved with leaves and flowers, to them it was magnificent. They then walked through an archway at the end into a room full of tapestries which in each told a tale of Lórien, the fabrics were all of the highest quality silk and cotton.

"Lady Galadriel" Spoke an elleth as she bowed before her lady. Her hair, long and straight, was the colour of the night but shined bright like the moon, her eyes a warm brown shade like that of the bark on the trees and her complexion pale but with the same rosy cheeks Lillieth had. Eärendur seemed to just stare at the beauty before him before Galadriel interrupted his gaze "Eärendur, Lillieth this is Nienna, she is our finest tailor and healer. She will be the one to take care of your every need" She turned to Nienna and asked "That is if you are not busy to take care of our guests".  
"Of course not my lady, it would be my pleasure!" the gracious beauty replied.  
"Ah, good! I will leave you now, I hope I will see your wonderful faces at the feast tomorrow. Hope Lórien is everything you wish it to be" when she finished her sentence Galadriel departed and walked out of the room they currently occupied.  
"It is nice to meet you, where are you from if you do not mind me asking?" Nienna asked while holding out her hand to shake theirs.  
"We are from Mirkwood, we came here to Lórien for safety." Replied Earendur while he took her offered hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it .  
"You will be safe here, do not worry about that. Lady Galadriel keeps away all evil" said Nienna with a beaming smile on her face, Eärendur still had his eyes fixated on the elleth in front of him.

Nienna lead the pair all around Caras Galadhon showing them its beauty, then approached two, what appeared to be empty, talans [houses]. "Here they are, this is where you will be staying. You are not far from mine or our March Warden's tallen if you need anything. I would introduce you to him but he is with Lord Celeborn. There is always tomorrow. I must get back to work now, _Namerie_ [farewell]" said Nienna before walking away.  
"Namerie" replied both Eärendur and Lillieth.  
"Ah, Eärendur, you like her don't you?" whispered Lillieth while nudging his arm.  
He could feel his cheeks warming with blood from embarrassment then replied "Be quiet Lillieth. Now come I will help you settle into your talan and make sure you are ok" Eärendur had always been very protective of Lillieth, and felt he owed it to her more now because of what happened back in Mirkwood.  
"I shall be fine, please just leave me to settle in" she pleaded.  
"As you wish, but come to me if you need anything, please!" he demanded then stepped through the door into his own talan.  
She stood there for a while at the top of her steps and admired the talan that would be her home here in Lórien. It was a platform with walls made of wood which had golden leaves surrounding it, it was better than the ones back home she thought. Little did she know that she was being admired from afar.

Haldir, Lórien's March Warden was just returning from the meeting he had with the Lord Celeborn concerning his injury from battle when he came across an elleth he had never seen before. Normally he would take no notice, as his position means he doesn't really have much time to have a companion but lillieth caught his eye. She was unlike anyone he had ever seen before, he was captivated just like Eärendur was with Nienna. To his dismay she stepped inside her talan out of his view. He wanted to go speak to her but he thought he would leave the introductions until tomorrows festivities, he knew they would have been invited by Galadriel. He then too entered his talan for the night.


	2. Chapter 2-Making new friends

**A/N: Glad to see there are a few of you who like my story so far! Sorry it has taken a few days to complete but I have had work to do for Uni, hope guys understand! Also would like to thank ****_foofie01_**** for our first review! Here is the second chapter enjoy!~**

Again I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters, only my own.

Lillieth hadn't slept much that night, she was too afraid to sleep. Tears flowed from her eyes down her face as she remembered how she obtained the bruises that discoloured her wrists. She then heard a knock on the door of her talan.  
"Lillieth, it is Nienna. I don't mean to bother you but I need to take measurements for the dress I am due to make for you. May I come in?" Nienna asked.  
"Yes you may come in" shouted Lillieth from her bedroom while wiping the evidence of her tears off her face.  
"Are you ok my dear?, please tell me if there is something wrong" Nienna pleaded to her.  
"It is nothing, I'm fine, just memories from back home" she mumbled.  
"What happened if I may ask? You can trust me." asked Nienna as she places one of her hands over Lillieth to provide her with comfort.  
Lillieth, unsure at first, didn't know whether she should open up to her. But there was a nice friendly warmth about Nienna that made her feel at ease. She described everything that had happened to her back home in Mirkwood, and why Eärendur wished to bring her to Lórien.  
"I understand, but I promise you, you will be very safe here under Lady Galadriel's watch and mine, of course." Nienna told her giving her a reassuring smile. She then embraced her in a comforting hug.  
"Thank you, but I shouldn't keep you any longer from you work, you should take my measurements." Lillieth demanded, smiling back at her friend whilst pulling away from the hug.  
She recorded her measurements and Lillieth chose the fabric and colours she would like her gown to be made of. Nienna then accepted a goblet of water off Lillieth and waited outside for Eärendur who she knew would appear soon.  
Light passed into Eärendur's talan which made him rouse from his sleep, the smell of flowers filled the air and birds were singing outside. He decided to step out of bed at this point to get something to eat and dress before checking on Lillieth. He washed his face in the basin by his bed and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was long and straight of the richest brown, eyes green which glistened like dew upon grass and he seemed to be the only ellon that grew facial hair. This made him unique, something he wished Nienna would appreciate about him .He then opened a chest containing his clothes, it contained only one tunic and one pair of leggings along with his travelling cloak. He thought he should ask Nienna to make him some clothes, or he would have nothing to wear. He smiled to himself remembering her face, quickly putting on the clothes in his chest. Walking through the archway in his Talan he nibbled on some bread before deciding to check on Lillieth, then departed from his talan.

When he arrived at her talan he was surprised to see Nienna was already there standing outside sipping water from an intricately carved goblet. The dress she wore was of light material of the lightest blue, flowers were braided into her hair and she looked breath taking.

"Ah! Good morning Eärendur, did you have a pleasant sleep?" she asked him with a smile on her face.  
"Aye! My lady. Very good indeed, you look lovely if you don't mind me saying" he shyly pointed out.  
"Oh, you are too kind, I made this especially for today, I'm glad you like it" she replied not knowing the true meaning of what he had told her. Lillieth heard voices from outside so decided to open her door and investigate.  
"Eärendur, I thought I could hear your voice. I wish to thank you for suggesting bringing me to a wonderful place. Also I wish to thank you for being a truly amazing friend" Lillieth said as she walked through the door to where they stood. She winked in his direction because she knew he liked Nienna.  
All flustered, Eärendur managed to say "No, it is my duty to care for you, I promised your parents". She then saw fit to depart from their company and start preparing for the feast.  
"I will leave you two to enjoy each other's company, I need to bathe myself" she stated.  
"Eärendur, while Lillieth is bathing, would you come with me for measurements. Then I can make your outfit for tonight?" asked Nienna.  
"Of course, my lady" he replied. Lillieth said to them she would see them later then retreated into her talan to prepare to get ready as the festivities were due to start later in the day. They headed to Nienna's workshop in the great hall. On their walk there they talked to each other about various things including work, the whole time he admired her. She too was looking at him with a smile on her face, they seemed to like each other's company a great deal.  
Upon entering the room filled with tapestries, Nienna ushered Eärendur to stand with his arms raised to the side as she slipped the measure around his waist and hips. He enjoyed this as he could feel her warmness close to him, her soft hands wrapped around him to grasp the other end of the measure. This made them both blush. She then drew the tape measure from his ankle to the top of his inner thigh, which made him jump.  
"Oh, I am really sorry about that" Nienna apologised whilst trying to hide her glowing cheeks.  
"That is fine, my lady, I was not expecting it, that is all" replied Eärendur.  
Nienna smiled then asked "So, how are you finding Lórien, is it to your liking?".  
"There are a great many things to my liking here, my lady" the words spilled out his mouth before he even thought about it.  
"That is good to know, but forgive me, is there anything else you require besides clothing?" asked Nienna.  
"There is one thing, I only came equipped with a bow and quarrel of arrows, and since Lady Galadriel wishes for me to help protect Lórien I am need of a sword. Is there is a forge or armoury from where I could acquire one from?" He questioned.  
"Actually, I have an old friend who used to be a guard. He now works to produce all of Lórien's arms" she stated.  
"Where may I find him?" he asked.  
"Ah, he works by the market, you cannot miss him. Just tell him I sent you. He is always happy to supply defenders of Lórien. I am now finished with your measurements, so you may go speak with him now, I shall have your outfit for tonight finished in no time. Come with Lillieth here later, you can change here with her" she replied.  
"Thank you, my lady. I cannot wait to be in your company once more" rolled of his tongue.  
He then departed to head to the market.

He approached the market where he would speak with Nienna's friend. This was then that the thought had not occurred to him to ask of his name, which would make this harder for him. Soon enough he came across what looked like a forge. He entered the building which had on display many weapons along the walls all engraved with elven words. As he walked through the door he could hear hammering and the heat from furnaces. It was then Eärendur saw an ellon working on a sword at a bench, he was of a thin build, had long dark hair and adorned an apron over his tunic and leggings.  
"Excuse me, I do not mean to bother you but I have been sent here by Nienna, I am in need of some weaponry." Proclaimed Eärendur over the hammering. The ellon looked up, finished what he was doing and walked over to where he was stood.  
"Ah, any friend of Nienna is a friend of mine. I am Teren, at your service. What is it you require?" he asked in reply.  
" I am Eärendur, I am an ellon from Mirkwood, here as a guest of Lady Galadriel. I will be in aid of Lórien's defence if I am needed. I wish to obtain a sword and a dagger, if that is possible" he asked.  
"It is very possible, just tell me which kind you require, I can make you custom weaponry but I would need time. In the meantime I can allow you to borrow some" said Teren.  
"That is most gracious of you. For the sword I require it to be a one handed blade and the dagger possibly longer than a dagger but shorter than a normal sword." Described Eärendur.  
"That is most possible my young friend." Said Teren then walked over to his weapon racks that line the walls. After a moment of consideration he pulled down two blades of different lengths and handed them over to Eärendur.  
"The sword is just a standard blade used by all people of Lórien as is the dagger. But the blades I will make for you will be custom to what you have described." Stated Teren.  
"Thank you, these will most definitely do for now. How much do I owe you" he asked.  
"I require nothing from you, my friend. If you offer your service to Lórien it is the least I can do for you" Teren replied.  
"You are most kind, I must leave now. I will see you again soon." He said.  
"You will if you want these weapons, I do not deliver" reported Teren. On that note, Eärendur took the weapons and departed for his talan. He walked back to his talan to store his weapons there before going to meet Lillieth. Before meeting Lillieth he strapped the dagger to his waist, as a precaution.

He arrived at Lillieth's talan where she was stood outside waiting for him.  
"Ah! Finally, there you are! We must go to see Nienna straight away, which I am sure you have no objection to" joked Lillieth.  
"Careful _Penig_ [Little One], I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of all of Lórien by sharing some of the stories of our childhood" he said in a mocking tone.  
"You would not dare" she said calmly as she walked away heading towards Nienna's workshop.  
"Why is that?" he asked.  
"I have stories too" Lillieth winked.  
They then arrived at Nienna's workshop where she was waiting for them.  
"Here are your outfits for tonight, as well as some other pieces that you can wear for now. I will make you some more over the coming days. I hope you like them" .  
Lillieth walked forward and picked up the gown which was lilac in colour, adorned with small flowers around the neckline. It was long and flowing and soft to the touch.  
"Nienna, it is beautiful thank you so much" Lillieth thanked her as she went to put it on in the adjoining room. Then Eärendur picked up the tunic which lay in front of him. It was of a rich green with leaves embroidered into the material, with gold trim around the collar and cuff. It was of the highest grade of silk any elf could have made. Eärendur smiled, he had never worn anything so fine before. Lillieth then walked out in her gown, to both Nienna and Eärendur she looked breath taking, but he still admired how gracious the blue gown made Nienna appear.  
"Not Bad _Penig _[Little one], too bad she couldn't make you taller" mocked Eärendur.  
"I can always buy shoes to make me taller, unfortunately you will always be that ugly" she replied. Nienna couldn't help but laugh even though she disagreed with the comment, she knew they were only playing.  
"I think that is my cue to go change" he stated then quickly made his way into the adjoining room.  
"Why does he call you Penig?" questioned Nienna.  
"He has called it me since we were children, I was younger than him. I guess it just fit" she replied.  
Eärendur came out of the room and walked over to where the two elleth's were. He held out his arms and gestured that they both put their arms through his to escort them to the feast.

**Please don't forget to review, it will help me. Since we are snowed in here, the next chapter should be up shortly. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3- The Feast

**A/N: Thank you to the others who are following our story, it feels good to know you like it. Here is the third chapter. Hope you like and please, please review it! **

**Again I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters, only my own. **

"I guess we should go and meet with Lady Galadriel" stated Nienna who lead them in the direction of a large open field. There were many tables laid out under the setting sun, each with an array of fruits and other food. Lillieth was even more amazed by Lórien's splendour and was stunned at all the elves around her, they all were beautiful in their own right. She then listened to the soft sounds of music coming from the other end of the field where people were playing harps.  
Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn approached them.  
"I am so glad you are here, I hope you will have a wonderful time here today. Lillieth will you come with me, there is someone I wish for you to meet" asked Galadriel. Lillieth nodded and followed the Lady while Eärendur looked on with a watchful eye.  
"She will be fine Eärendur, she will be safe here, he cannot harm her anymore" whispered Nienna.  
"How do you know about him?" he questioned.  
"When I arrived at her talan this morning she was crying, so I asked her what the matter was and she opened up to me" answered Nienna.  
Eärendur was happy that Lillieth felt she could talk to Nienna, he was in awe of how kind and innocent she appeared but couldn't help but watch Lillieth intently as she walked away with Lady Galadriel.

"Lillieth this is Haldir, our March Warden. He will be here in Caras Galadhon to make sure you are well. He is recovering from an injury he suffered in battle so he cannot attend the borders. Luckily we have your friend to help us" pronounced Galadriel.  
"My lady" He said as he bowed before Lillieth then taking her hand to place a soft kiss upon it, however before he could she pulled her hand away and gave a small bow. All she could do was smile and stare, she was lost for words as her shyness took hold of her. His long silvery hair, gleaming blue eyes and strong physique astounded her. She had never seen an ellon like this before, or who made her feel the way his presence did.  
"I will leave you two to get to know each other" whispered Galadriel before moving away from them. There were many people dancing in front of them and other congregated near the food. Laughter and joy filled the air and Lillieth saw Eärendur was watching them from afar, she prayed to the Valar he wouldn't make a scene tonight.  
Haldir held out his hand and asked "Would care to join me for a dance, my lady?". She hesitated then took a step back before she lied and said "Sorry, but I cannot dance".  
"There is no need to be afraid of me, my lady. I do not bite" Haldir replied. She blushed and then looked in Eärendur's direction and noticed he was happily distracted by Nienna's company.  
"Is the ellon you keep glancing at bothering you, my lady?" enquired Haldir.  
"No, no. He is an old friend who's a little overprotective." She replied.  
"So, could I interest you in that dance now? I am a good teacher" said Haldir.  
Lillieth bowed and said "I would be honoured my lord". He finally grasped her hand and pulled her near leading her over to where the other elves were dancing. He led her into dance, pulling her along in time with him. She was captivated by the sight of him, and it felt like they were the only two there. Her heart beat quickened and she blushed as she realised his hand was placed upon the small of her back.  
"I find it hard to believe you cannot dance, my lady" questioned Haldir, which made her come out of her daze which bought her back to meet his stare.  
Eärendur still stared over in the direction of Haldir and Lillieth, he wanted to go over there but Nienna, who was at his side, convinced him to leave them be.  
"Haldir is our March Warden, his intentions are honourable. He is one of the most respected ellon's in Lórien" she described. This did little to calm Eärendur.  
"She is not ready for this, he is forcing her to do things she is not comfortable with. I took her from Mirkwood to stop that. I will be damned if I let it happen here!" Eärendur said with an icy stare in Haldir's direction as he sipped on his drink.  
"She seems happy enough to me, you shouldn't be holding her back from a chance of happiness. Lady Galadriel herself introduced them, I cannot help but think it is for a reason" she replied, getting agitated at his behaviour.  
"Not with Haldir! He is high born, he will be just the same as him. He will see her nothing more than a possession or a prize at the end of a chase" he hissed still not meeting Nienna's gaze.  
"Who should she be with then, someone like you?!" Nienna shouted back at him.  
Eärendur was about to reply when he saw Haldir and Lillieth walking towards the forest. Nienna tried to hold him back but he shrugged her off and carried on in their direction.

Lillieth and Haldir had just reached the edge of the tree's near the end of the clearing when she heard Eärendur's voice.  
"Where are you going, Penig [Little One]?" asked Eärendur.  
"Haldir is taking me to his favourite place in the forest where he goes to be alone. It is not far from here" Lillieth replied.  
"You should not fear, she will be safe with me. I give you my word" Haldir stated.  
"Maybe I should come with you, just to be sure" demanded Eärendur.  
"Eärendur! You have been watching me all night, I will be fine. Just please, go back to the feast. I beg you" She pleaded before turning to walk towards the forest. Haldir smirked at Eärendur then bowed before following her into the tree's. Eärendur stood there shocked as Lillieth had never raised her voice to him in seriousness before. He then thought of the look on Haldir's face and muttered to himself "You have no idea what you have started, Blondie". He didn't notice Nienna behind him.  
"You forgot your drink" she said handing him the goblet he had left at the table.  
"Thank you my lady, I am sorry I left so quickly. To answer your question, no I don't think she would be better off with me. I only see a little sister when I look at her" he replied. This made her smile.

Haldir had led Lillieth further into the forest when they reached an open area where there was a small pond with a single weeping willow tree. This stood over the pond, draping into the water. Surrounding the area were a number of wild flowers, and fireflies near the lake.  
"This is my own personal getaway, I found it while I was young. I come here often after arguing with my brothers, which is often. Oh, and nobody else seems to know about this clearing, strangely" he said with a smile.  
"It is a beautiful place, it is breath taking with the moon light" she said.  
"Not as beautiful as the elleth I have bought here" Haldir spoke softly while looking into her eyes. She could feel her cheeks warm and heart beat quicken as before, no other ellon had ever affected her in this way.  
"You flatter me, my lord" she whispered.  
"I speak only the truth, my lady" he replied. He gently took her hand in his and led her over to underneath the willow tree where he ushered her to sit on the soft grass.  
"So my lord, what is it that you do when you come here?" questioned Lillieth.  
"That depends. Sometimes I vent my anger to the willow tree, I think it must be sick of hearing me by now" he replied and she chuckled in response. He noticed a strand of hair had fallen in front of her face so tucked it back behind her ear in a soft motion. They could do nothing but stare at each other in that moment, until Lillieth came back to her senses.  
"You said you had brothers my lord?" asked Lillieth, trying to make conversation. She wanted to know more about the handsome March Warden.  
"Two, my lady, Rumil and Orophin. They serve with me on the guard" he replied.  
"I encountered them on my arrival in Lórien, they escorted us to Caras Galadhon. They seem quite charming." She said, with a smile.  
"To everyone but me, yes" he stated. They noticed it was getting late as the moon was high in the sky.  
"I should escort you back to your talan, my lady. Lest I endure the wrath of your protector. He doesn't seem at all impressed with me." He suggested.  
"That would be wise, but don't think too little of him. He has always been protective of me, since we were children" she replied. He held out his arm so she could place her arm in his so he could lead the way back. They walked and talked about a variety of things, but she wouldn't say why she left Mirkwood for Lórien. In the end Haldir gave up on the subject, he was sure she would tell him when she saw fit.  
They reached the door of her talan and he kissed the back of her hand gently.  
"May I be graced with your fine presence tomorrow, my lady?" he asked.  
"I would like that, good night my lord" she replied before entering into her talan for the night. Haldir smiled to himself as he walked away from her talan thinking he was very lucky.

"Did you have a nice walk" the voice of Eärendur spoke from the shadow of a tree next to Haldir.  
"It was very pleasant, too bad you could not have joined us" replied Haldir.  
"Far be it from me to encroach upon the time of the great March Warden" he uttered.  
"Is there a point to this ambush, or do you enjoy conversing with me" questioned Haldir with a slight smirk.  
"I just have something to say to you. I won't keep you from your bed for too long. I wouldn't want you over exerting yourself with your wound, which I am surprised you have considering you are the infamous March Warden" he said. Haldir's face dropped at the mention of his wound and the disrespect Eärendur had shown his station.  
"I sense some hostility. Say what you have to say and be quick about it. Before I show you how able I really am" Haldir snorted.  
"Temper, Temper March Warden. Here it is. Stay away from Lillieth. She doesn't need your kind forcing her to do things she doesn't want to do" he ordered.  
"She didn't require much force, surely you could see that or were the other ellon to tall for you to see over" he replied.  
"I am watching you, March Warden. If anything happens to her, I will hold you responsible" he warned Haldir.  
"I will let nothing happen to her, or be ordered by anyone like you to do anything." He replied before walking away feeling a little insulted.  
"This isn't over, March Warden. You can count on that" shouted Eärendur before heading towards his own talan.


	4. Chapter 4- It really isn't over

**A/N: Here's another chapter guys, had fun writing this one. Hope you enjoy it too, and please review! But thanks to foofie01 for reviewing again, it is much appreciated.**

**Again I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters, only my own.**

Lillieth awoke to the sound of birds outside and the light of the sun shining through the window of her talan. It seemed like the first time in ages she had awoke with a smile on her face, this was due to only one thing, Haldir. The events from last night resurfaced in her mind and she couldn't help but smile. While she was lost in thought, the door of her talan flew open and Eärendur stormed in, she didn't like the fact he didn't even knock before he entered, her good mood seemingly vanished.  
"You were gone for a long time last night, I was worried about you!" he shouted.  
"Eärendur, I am not properly dressed and you just stormed in without knocking while I am still in bed. Please, get out" she said in an agitated voice. He calmed down, realising his actions, "Lillieth?" he tried to say but she cut him off "Out, Now!" she shouted throwing the bowl of fruit next to her bed in his direction. He had never seen her angry towards him before, he thought it best if he left.  
Lillieth was seething but didn't let him get to her, she needed to get ready to meet Haldir. Then there was a gentle knock on the door.  
"Eärendur, I swear if that is you I will not be very happy" she shouted swinging the door open to see Nienna standing there. "I am so sorry, Nienna. Forgive me" she apologised.  
"I guess he has already been round then? There is no need to apologise he wasn't very pleasant yesterday. I thought I could bring you some more clothes and have breakfast together?" she said gesturing to the small pile of clothes she was holding.  
"I would love that, thank you so much, please come in" Lillieth replied gesturing her to come in.  
It was then that Nienna saw the shattered bowl and fruit all over the floor.  
"I hope you didn't want fruit this morning" sighed Lillieth with her head in her hand.  
"Oh, don't worry. I have bought some bread and jam for this morning. I will help you clean up". Lillieth nodded and they both started to pick the fruit up off the floor along with the shards of broken bowl. They then sat at the table in the kitchen where they prepared breakfast.  
"So, did you have a pleasant evening last night." She asked noticing the smile on her friends face.  
"Very pleasant, in fact we are to meet up again today" Lillieth replied.  
"That is wonderful, shame Eärendur will be on watch to spoil it." Nienna sighed.  
"Could you do me a favour and maybe distract him. I think you will help, I know he likes you, and I'm sure you have no complaints" Lillieth enquired.  
"I could, and no I don't have any objections to spending time with him. I just don't understand why he behaves as he does. If he has feelings for you, I would rather not pursue him if he will never have feelings for me" she replied.  
"Eärendur has had a complicated past. My father found him in the remains of his village, he was only a young child, the only survivor of an Orc attack. My father took him in as his own, and we grew up together. My farther trained him to be my protector and he takes that role seriously, as he thinks he owes it to us. After what happened back in Mirkwood he feels like he has failed me. This is why he seems to be like he is towards Haldir. Plus you should have no worries in how he feels for you, I have seen the way he looks at you" she explained.  
"I understand now, I'll do my best to distract him so you can enjoy your time with Haldir. I best leave you to get ready, I shall she you later" Nienna agreed before departing to find Eärendur.

As Nienna was leaving Haldir was approaching Lillieth's talan as they passed each other they gave the other a friendly smile. It was then Lillieth heard a knock on her door, she then went to open it, butterflies filled her stomach. She opened the door to see Haldir. He bowed and presented her with a flower, one from where they visited the previous night.  
"Oh Haldir, it is beautiful! Thank you so much" Lillieth managed to say as she was in shock at his gesture.  
"I searched all morning for something to match your beauty. I failed, but this must do" he replied.  
"You are too kind, my lord" she thanked him.  
"Please, I am not your lord, just call me Haldir" he said. Lillieth placed the flower in a vase at the side of her bed.  
"Would you like to have a walk around the market district with me, then see where we end up" asked Haldir.  
"I would love that, let's go" she replied. They then walked out of her talan and headed for the market, it was a beautiful day, the sun shining bright above them. Lillieth thought she could not be any happier.

"Eärendur, there you are! I have looked all over for you" she shouted to him. He was sat in one of the branches of the tree above his talan.  
"You're not here to shout at me and throw things as well are you?" asked Eärendur in reply.  
"No, but it's not that you wouldn't deserve it. I am here to give you a second chance after all, you were horrible company at the feast. Would you like to escort me to the market I need to get some more materials?" asked Nienna. He immediately jumped down from the branch to in font of Nienna.  
"I would like that, my lady. I apologise for last night, I am hoping to redeem myself today" he replied.  
"You better, you won't get another chance in my company" she said before gesturing for him to walk in the direction of the market.

Lillieth and Haldir were admiring the many stalls when she spotted the jewellery stand, she ran to the stand with him behind her. One necklace caught her eye, it was silver leaf of Lórien with one gem stone in the middle. She admired it for a while before walking off towards where she saw some horses in an open stable. One of the horses was different to the others it was of a pure white, it stood taller than the others. She ran her hand through its mane which was silky soft.  
"Beautiful isn't he, my horse is very similar to this one. I'll have to introduce you one day" Haldir said.  
"He is, and I would love that. I've always loved horses" she replied.  
"We could visit Rohan one day, they have the best horses in all of middle earth" he said.  
"That would be nice, I have never been to any of the Kingdom's of men before." She described.  
They continued to look at the horses and talk to each other.

On the other side of the market were Nienna and Eärendur, they were having a nice time when he spotted Lillieth and Haldir by the stable. He noticed a fruit stand near them and suggested that they buy some, to which Nienna agreed. "Apples are my favourite" she stated. "And mine" he said with an evil grin. While Nienna was looking through the fruit, Eärendur picked up a nice ripe, apple which was perfect. Nienna with her back towards to Eärendur attempted to make him see sense about Lillieth and Haldir, however he had other things on his mind. With his back to Haldir he had already lined up the shot and flung the apple behind him while Nienna was oblivious.  
The apple sailed through the air and while Haldir was distracted it hit him in the back of his head making him lose balance and fall head first into the horses water trough. "Shot! I told you it wasn't over" Eärendur muttered to himself hearing the satisfying splash behind him.  
"Did you say something" Nienna questioned Eärendur.  
"Nothing, my lady. I think we have enough fruit now, shall we go somewhere else" he asked her.  
"Indeed, my lord" she replied as they walked away towards the forest.

"Haldir, are you ok. What happened?" Lillieth said to Haldir who was sat in the water trough with a shocked look on his face.  
"Something struck me on the back of the head." It was then he noticed the apple on the floor in front of him and a familiar cloaked ellon walking away. Lillieth helped him out of the trough.  
"I'm sorry I had to cut our day short, but I must go back and change. I would love it if you came for a midnight walk with me" asked Haldir.  
"I would like that indeed" Lillieth smiled in reply before they walked off in the direction of their talan.  
Haldir approached his talan seething with anger and soaking wet. He entered through the door to see his brothers Orophin and Rumil sat there. Rumil was eating at the table while Orophin sat there reading. They both looked up at their brother in astonishment. Orophin took a quick glance out the window before looking back at his brother.  
"Is it raining, brother?" Orophin joked.  
"No but a storm is coming for a certain ellon" he replied.  
"What happened" Rumil asked Haldir, trying his best not to laugh. Haldir explained what had happened as well as the situation with Eärendur and Lillieth.  
"It looks like you're in need of our help brother. After all, we are the immature, irresponsible ones" said Orophin.  
"Yes, I need to make sure he stays out of my way tonight, and learn not to meddle in my affairs" said Haldir.  
"Plus your hair is ruined, he must pay for that. I know your hair means a lot to you" stated Rumil, still trying not to laugh as well as Orophin. They then went to prepare for his revenge.


	5. Chapter 5- Getting to know each other

**A/N: Another chapter for you guys! Second one today, which im sure you will like. This was my favourite chapter I have written yet!- I'm a big romantic at heart!**

**Note from [co-writer] E: The last chapter was my favourite to write I love doing the Haldir/ Earendur confrontations please review guys we're both trying to get better at writing and we hope you enjoy **

**I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters, only my own!**

Nienna and Eärendur had decided it was getting late so they would go back to their talans to change before going to get some food. Nienna had left him at her talan after agreeing she would meet him there in a short while, she was sure he would be ok to get back to his talan on his own.  
Eärendur was in a very good mood while he was walking to his talan, he had spent the whole day with the lovely Nienna. He was sure Lillieth would forgive him eventually and he made Haldir look like an idiot in front of many people, not bad for one day. When he finally reached his talan he noticed something on the floor outside his door. He walked over to investigate, the only thought that came to his head was 'is that an apple'. As he approached it to pick it up he felt the floor underneath his feet fall through and he fell into a net that was positioned precariously beneath him.  
He was trying to register what was happening, a piece of wood dug into his back, and the apple upon his chest. He then saw the face of Haldir above him.  
"I believe that apple belongs to you, am I right?" asked Haldir with a smug grin on his face.  
Eärendur looked up not believing the situation he was in. He reached around to retrieve his dagger from his waist but realised he hadn't worn it today.  
"How did you manage to set this up. I thought this type of childish was below you?" asked Eärendur.  
"It may be below me but I believe you have already met my brothers" said Haldir as Orophin and Rumil came into view.  
"It is good to see you again, Eärendur. I remember you being taller when we last met" mocked Orophin. A laugh escaped from the mouths of the three brothers.  
"Please let me out, you have made your point" pleaded Eärendur.  
"No, you will stay in here to think about your actions. I am now off to go for my walk with Lillieth where you will not be able to interfere" Haldir replied. The three brothers started to walk away then Haldir's face resurfaced near the edge then tipped a bucket of apples into the net with Eärendur.  
"I wouldn't want you to get hungry while you wait here" chuckled Haldir.  
Eärendur sat in the net fuming. "I hope you realise, this means war" he shouted.

Nienna arrived at Eärendur's talan to find him hanging below the floor in a net filled with apples and pieces of wood.  
"Eärendur what are you doing?" Nienna asked him.  
"You know just hanging around, care to give me a hand?" he asked in a soft voice.  
"How did you get down there?" she asked in reply.  
"This is courtesy of the March Warden and his brothers" he said.  
"They wouldn't do this without cause. What did you do?" she asked.  
"Nothing" he replied. "Eärendur!" she raised her voice at him.  
"Ok, when we were in the market earlier, I may have spotted Lillieth and Haldir and I may or may not have threw an apple at him, knocking him into a trough full of water" he said with his head bowed.  
"You will never learn will you. Give me one good reason why I should let you out?" she said.  
"Because I am charming and handsome?" he replied with a sense of arrogance.  
"Nowhere near good enough" she replied before walking away.  
"Wait! I am sorry, if you let me out I promise to not go near Lillieth or Haldir tonight. We can get that dinner as well" he said in a begging tone.  
"That's a start but you need to promise to stop interfering in her life. The March Warden is an honourable man, and as you can see his brothers are not to be messed with either. I promise he will not hurt her, she is happy with him. At the moment you are hurting her more than he ever would." She said, trying to make him understand.  
"I promise, I will give them space. But he deserves payback. Now would you let me out, please" he replied. Nienna then walked up the stairs towards where the open net hung. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out onto the remaining floor outside his talan.  
"Now for the meal, my lady?" he asked as he put his arm around her.  
"I hope you can cook" she replied with a smile on her face, as they entered his talan.

Lillieth and Haldir made it to the secluded spot where they had been previously, he held her hand and guided her to sit on the grass underneath the willow tree. He had prepared some food which he had bought along in a basket, he opened it to reveal some strawberries and grapes along with a jug of cream. He also placed two glasses in front of them, the water they would get from the large clear pond which was beside them. He picked up a strawberry which he dipped in the cream and slowly guided it to her mouth for her to bite into the fruit. Like always, this made her blush. It was his presence that made her act in this way. In turn, Haldir had never been so captivated by an elleth before.  
"I have never done anything like this before" Lillieth said.  
"I find that hard to believe, my lady. You must have had all the Ellyn [male elves] chasing you" replied Haldir.  
"I did have a few admirers but it's hard for anyone to get close to you when you have a protector in your household who was renowned throughout Mirkwood" she stated giggling slightly.  
"Eärendur?, I cannot imagine him being very skilled" he replied.  
"Oh no, he is my father trained him personally. He aided in the defence of our household and the borders many times. He was offered positions of higher rank of our king, Thranduil, even a place among the retinue that escorted prince Legolas to Imaldris. He always refused." She explained.  
"Why is that, my lady?" asked Haldir quite curious to know why.  
"He always said the duty to look after me was the greatest he has ever been given. I feel guilty for holding him back but I could never convince him to take any of the positions." she replied.  
"You have a true friend there, Lillieth. If he wasn't such a pain, I may even like him" . Lillieth giggled at this.  
"He does grow on you, if you give him time" she said still laughing.  
"Even being immortal, I doubt I will ever have time" chuckled Haldir in response.  
I while later after consuming their light meal, Haldir suggested a swim in the open water. Which Lillieth agreed to. She was very wary of taking off her dress so she could take a swim but the water seemed very inviting so she slipped it over her head leaving her underdress on and slowly entered the body of water. He didn't seem so shy and simple removed his tunic and dove in, he didn't want another tunic getting wet today. He swam over to where she was trying to hide her body whilst trying not to stare at his. As she was nervous the first thing she could think to do was splash water at him.  
"What was that for, my lady?" Haldir questioned.  
"You looked hot, my lord, I thought it would cool you down" she replied her cheeks once more warming from the blood flow due to embarrassment. She couldn't think why she had said what she did.  
"As do you, my lady" he said as he splashed her back. They then started to swim around the pool splashing each other. After a while Haldir had enough and swam up to her enveloping her in his arms lifting her slightly out of the water. Her dress clung to her body where he could see the outline of her body, and he smiled to himself at the image.  
"Do you surrender my lady?" Haldir said, looking into her eyes.  
"Yes I surrender, please don't throw me under" she said still trying to catch her breath from laughing.  
"What do I win, my lady" he asked. Suddenly she was very conscious that she was in his arms and she could feel the warm from his naked torso. This made her shudder, not from feeling cold, but from the feeling that had come over her. The feeling that she wanted to get closer to him. They remained silent for a while before he lowered his head to hers where their lips met in a soft kiss.  
She lifted her hand up to his head and entwined her fingers in his long, flowing hair while she deepened the kiss. They broke apart for air and giggled at each other. Haldir lowered her into the water and took her hands in his. It was then he noticed something disturbing, bruises discoloured her wrists. How he hasn't noticed them before, he did not know. He couldn't help but ask about the marks on her wrists, the words escaped from his mouth before he had time to think.  
"Lillieth, where did you get these bruises?" He asked with a concerning look on his face, he hoped nobody could ever do this to such a beautiful, special elleth. She pulled her hands away like she had been burnt and stared at Haldir with a look of pain before exiting the water to retrieve her dress.  
"Please don't leave, I didn't mean to offend you" he said following her out of the water.  
She said nothing and tried to retrieve her clothes so she could leave the clearing and return to the safety of her talan.  
He walked up behind her pulling her close to him wrapping his arms around her.  
"Please don't go" he whispered in her ear. The warmth of his body against her made her feel at ease and she turned to face him.  
"I will stay. Just please don't ask me to explain the bruises. I will tell you when I am ready" she replied. He smiled and said "Ok, I can ask nothing more of you. Please come sit with me". She nodded and they walked over to the grass underneath the tree where they sat before.  
"I have something to give you, you do not have to accept it" Haldir said to her while taking a box out of his tunic before handing it over to her. She took the box in her hand and opened it.  
She was shocked to see that it was the necklace she had admired earlier at the market.  
"Haldir, you didn't have to get me this." She gushed.  
"It is only what you deserve, something to remind you of me." He replied before taking the necklace and putting it around her neck. "There, beautiful" said Haldir before staring deeply into her eyes.  
He then took her hands in his and placed a soft kiss on each wrist where the bruises marked her skin.  
She smiled in response before moving closer to him burying her head in his chest while he wrapped his arms around her. She finally felt at home.

Nienna and Eärendur were sat in his talan in the presence of the empty plates that had bore their meal. Both with satisfied looks on their faces.  
"That was particularly nice, I concede that you are a good cook" stated Nienna.  
"What can I say? Handsome, Intelligent, Charming and a good cook, I have many talents." Eärendur said while placing a goblet to his lips before spilling the contents down his tunic.  
Nienna couldn't hold back her laughter "I see grace isn't one of your talents" she mocked.  
"At least I can make you laugh. You are beautiful when you smile" he replied.  
She looked at him not expecting the complement he had just given her.  
"Then it's too bad you have gone out of your way to make me angry, lately. If not I might be smiling more" she stated.  
"I will have to make up for that then, won't I?" he asked.  
"You can make up for it by stopping this childish pursuit of the March Warden. If you can do that then maybe I will invite you over to my talan for a meal tomorrow night" she propositioned him, hoping to stop his childish actions.  
"For that offer I would do anything, my lady" replied Eärendur.  
"That is good to know. Now I will leave so that you can clean yourself up. I will see you tomorrow night for dinner then?" Nienna asked. Eärendur then stood up to lead her out of his talan.  
He kissed her on the cheek. "Until tomorrow night, my lady" he said his goodbye.  
Nienna blushed at this and smiled because this seemed to be different behaviour from how he acted before. She then kissed him back on the cheek before departing for her own talan. As he watched her leave he sighed and muttered to himself "I'm sorry Nienna, he has this coming to him".

Haldir still held Lillieth in his arms for what seemed like only a few minutes but now the moon was high in the sky.  
"Can I ask you something?" he asked.  
"What is that, my lord" she asked in reply.  
"I formally ask permission to court you, my lady" he blurted out quickly as he was nervous.  
She blushed then said "You know my answer must be yes, but you require permission from my farther or another male relative for it to be official" she replied.  
"I will write to your farther first thing tomorrow morning" said Haldir.  
She jumped and spoke with fear in her voice "You cannot do that, my farther doesn't know I am here and he wouldn't allow it. He would simply ride here with his guard and take me back to Mirkwood" she explained.  
"Do you have a brother?" he asked. "No"  
"Anyone I could ask?" he asked hoping there would be.  
"There is only one" she paused realising what she was about to say.  
"Who is that my lady?" he asked praying it wasn't who he thought it would be.  
"Eärendur" she said with her eyes on the floor. A groan escaped from his mouth.

**Please don't forget to review! I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be up tomorrow, hopefully.**


	6. Chapter 6- The confrontation

**A/N: N: It technically is tomorrow now, to us. But to most of you you have had 3 chapters in a day, lucky you! I couldn't stop writing, we had lots of ideas we needed to put into the story. Chapter 7 will be up tomorrow! Enjoy guys!**

**E Note: Hey guys, me again. As some of you might have guessed I'm the Earendur in the pen name. I'm the co writer on this story and through request I wrote the fight scene in this chapter. I've never done this before, but I just really wanted to so please let me know what you think so I can make the next action scene better. Please read and review and keep reading thanks for reading our story.**

**I do not own Tolkien's work or characters only my own.**

Haldir lay in his bed thinking about the night before, he hadn't slept much that night due to thinking about her and the situation he was now in. He remembered her face when he discovered the bruises, the warmth he felt when he held her against him and their first magical kiss in the water. He then realised the task that was ahead of him, he wanted to be hers but first he had to ask Eärendur. He was the one person in the whole of Lórien who infuriated him more than his brothers.

Without as much as a knock Orophin and Rumil casually walked into his talan.  
"Morning brother, how was your midnight swim?" questioned Orophin while he sat down at the table followed by Rumil. Haldir sighed with his head in his hands.  
"Firstly, why don't you two ever knock. Second, why aren't you on patrol like you are meant to be and lastly, how do you know I went swimming?" asked Haldir.  
"Well we're brothers we do not have to knock, since Sauron's defeat there isn't much protection needed." Said Orophin while putting his feet up on Haldir's table.  
"I can answer the last question. I saw you walking a very wet elleth back to her talan while you too were soaking wet. I assumed you had been swimming that or you have become accustomed to taking a dip in the trough" joked Rumil.  
"Get your feet of my table 'fin! And funny Rumil, why the Valar see fit to curse me with you as brothers I do not know" said Haldir as he pushed Orophin's feet off his table.  
"What is wrong with you? You had a midnight swim with a very attractive elleth and we helped get revenge on that ellon who made you take a bath in the trough" said Rumil unbelieving of his brother's mood.  
"That's the problem, as satisfying as it was that annoying ellon is whom I need to ask permission from to court Lillieth. After leaving him suspended in a net I doubt he will be very compliant". Said Haldir in an exasperated tone.  
"I'm sure he will warm to you, as Lillieth has done so" replied Orophin.  
"Thank you, 'fin. I think must prepare myself for what I must say to him. " Haldir said as he tried to get up from the table. He fell to one knee as the pain shot through the wound on his back.  
"Brother, are you ok?" said Orophin and Rumil in unison as they rushed to his side.  
"I am fine, brothers. It just acts up sometimes. The healer convinced me it is normal" he replied struggling back to his feet as the pain subsided.  
"Do you want us to come with you to speak to Eärendur?" asked Orophin.  
"No, I want him to feel like I am not trying to threaten him by bringing you with me" said Haldir.  
"What if your wound acts up again?" questioned Rumil.  
"You worry too much, I will be fine" replied Haldir.

Nienna had met up with Eärendur early so that he could go to the training ground to practice with his bow. Since he hadn't practiced since arriving in Lórien. Eärendur was wearing a green tunic with a brown leather waistcoat with leggings. He had a quiver of arrows strapped to his back and the bow in his right hand. The bow was black with golden leaf design along the wood. He had made it himself and was very proud of it. He lined up the arrow to the furthest target and bulled back the string, he then released it sending the arrow flying through the air. The arrow hit the target dead in the centre, as soon as this happened he heard clapping behind him from Nienna, he couldn't help but smile slightly.  
"Not bad, I could see why Thranduil would want you in his sons company on his way to Imaldris." Said Haldir as he approached where he stood.  
"How do you know about that, March Warden?" questioned Eärendur.  
"Lillieth was telling me last night, she has a very high opinion of you" replied Haldir.  
"And I have a very high opinion of her. I guess she hasn't told you anything about her own past then?" he replied.  
"Eärendur!" Nienna scolded him. Haldir smiled as he thought he could use Nienna's presence to his advantage.  
"She hasn't told me as of yet. There is something I wish to ask of you" Haldir asked. Nienna had gone to stand at Eärendur's side.  
"The March Warden has a request for a lowly ellon like me? Pray tell, what is it?" replied Eärendur.  
"You are the only male figure in Lillieth's life at the moment, as I cannot make contact with her farther. I wish to seek out your approval in being able to court her" Haldir asked. Eärendur stood there in shock of what he had asked him, he was brave, very brave he would have to give him that. Nienna then placed a hand on his shoulder forcing him to face her, the look in her eyes said it all. If he refused she wouldn't be happy, and that would ruin his chance with her. Somehow he would have to find a way to keep him away from Lillieth and to keep Nienna happy. Then it came to him.  
"I have a proposition for you. I have not had a sparring match since before I left Mirkwood, I am in dire need of practice. Challenge me and if you win I will consent to your courtship of Lillieth, if not you must stay away from her". Nienna didn't look pleased but she knew this is the only way he would allow this courtship to go ahead. Haldir let the information sink and before he could reply his brothers appeared beside him.  
"Excuse us Eärendur for one moment please" Orophin said to the ellon and Rumil dragged Haldir away.  
"Are you mad brother, you cannot fight him. Your wound hasn't fully healed!" Rumil tried to reason with his brother.  
"There must be another way around Eärendur, let me speak to him" asked Orophin.  
"No 'fin, he is very proud. I must do this, he won't just simply let me court her, I need to win it" explained Haldir. Haldir turned and walked back to Eärendur and held out his hand in agreement of the deal.  
"Ok, meet back here in one hour." Eärendur described before he left in the direction of his talan to get his weapons. Haldir also headed back to his talan to retrieve his sword. Nienna went to find Lillieth as she could sense this situation would not bode well.

Lillieth was happily singing to herself while thinking about her night with Haldir. She was writing music in her talan, music has always been her passion but her father never let her pursue it more than a hobby. Lórien reignited the spark inside her. She would have to find a harp in Lórien in which she could practice on, she was sure Nienna would lead her to where the other musicians worked. It was then that she heard a frantic knock on the door before she went to open it.  
Stood there was a very out of breath Nienna who looked in desperation to talk to her.  
"Nienna" she said in a dreamy tone "I was just thinking of you, among other things. Would you like to come in for some tea?" she asked her friend.  
"No, you must come with me now! It is Haldir and Eärendur" Nienna tried to explain frantically.  
"Oh Valar, what now?" she asked knowing deep down that Eärendur would be the one to ruin her mood today.  
"They are going to spa with each other. Eärendur said he must earn his right to court you" Nienna explained to her friend who had a look filled with rage.  
"Take me to them. I swear I am going to kill him" demanded Lillieth.  
"Not if Haldir beats you to it" replied Nienna with the sound of worry in her voice. She then grabbed Lillieth's hand and dragged her out of the door and down to the training ground.

Eärendur and Haldir were loosening up on the training ground equipped with their weapons. Eärendur still wore the same green tunic and brown leather waistcoat. Strapped to his right thigh was his dagger and his left thigh his sword. Haldir wore a loose white tunic, which Eärendur mocked him for but he took no heed. The sword sheathed and strapped to his back was his only weapon.  
"Are you ready March Warden?" asked Eärendur getting into a stance with his legs spread apart.  
Eärendur stood in the stance holding his sword in his right hand which pointed toward the sky and diagonally parallel to his body. In the left hand he held his dagger with the blade facing behind him.  
"As ready as I will ever be" Haldir replied to him getting into his own stance where he pulled his sword out of its sheath and held it in front of him holding it with two hands.

"You are an idiot brother" spoke Orophin who couldn't believe the situation.  
"Will you referee this match Orophin? I trust your opinion and I'm sure it would make your brother feel safer." said Eärendur who gave a slight smile in Haldir's direction.  
"Fine, I will referee. I would say shake hands but you've already drawn your weapons so begin" Orophin spoke noticing there was already quite a crowd gathering. Orophin also noticed that Rumil was taking bets from the other guards and spectators on who they thought would win.  
Eärendur and Haldir circled each other for a while both looking for a weakness in the other. It was Eärendur who struck first running at Haldir and striking hard from above with his sword. Haldir blocked the strike from above and Eärendur quickly pulled away his sword and swiped at Haldir's stomach. He did this from the left with his dagger. Haldir barely dodged the strike but came back at Eärendur with a strike of his own. But Eärendur had ducked under and away from Haldir's blade. He ended up behind Haldir where he used both blades in a diagonal strike at Haldir's back. Haldir quickly flung his blade behind him to block the strike and turned himself to face Eärendur. He was very quick and Haldir mused over his opponent but he didn't have the experience Haldir did. He would soon tire if Haldir let him do all the work . It was at this point that Nienna and Lillieth arrived at the grounds, they were both shocked at what they saw but knew they couldn't do anything to stop them now.

Eärendur had again taken up the offensive, striking from left to right with his two blades. Haldir was successfully blocking every strike, if only just barely. It was then that Eärendur saw an opening. Haldir had dropped his guard when he had struck out one handed with his blade to his left. Eärendur ducked again under the blade and bought up his sword up diagonally across Haldir's chest. There were a few gasps from the onlookers and Lillieth gasped and tried to get past Nienna to go to him. This is because she thought Haldir had been seriously wounded. Luckily for Haldir he hadn't been. He took a few steps back and his sheath on his back fell off due to the strap across his chest being cut. There was also a diagonal cut in his tunic and the blade hadn't pierced skin.  
"You cut too shallow boy " Haldir smirked, examining the damage to his tunic.  
"It is a sparring match is it not? That was just a little message" smirked Eärendur through gasps of breath. He was working very hard and wasn't sure he could keep up this constant assault for much longer.  
"What would that be?" Haldir enquired.  
"To take me seriously" Eärendur spat.  
"As you wish" Haldir said, then once again taking up his stance, as did Eärendur.

Lillieth couldn't take much more of this. These were the two ellyn who meant the most to her and they were fighting each other, essentially over her. She hoped it would be over soon and she hated herself for thinking it, but she hoped Haldir would win. Haldir knew it was time to end this after his constant assault Eärendur was tired. It was time to press his advantage. Haldir began his counter attack on Eärendur by constantly hammering away at his defence from every angle he could. It was Eärendur who was now on the defensive, even ducking under Haldir's swings wasn't seeming to work anymore. Haldir had become wise to that particular strategy and was able to foresee the direction he was going to go. Haldir again gripped his sword with both hands as he himself was tiring now, he had to end this fight now. He could feel his wound throbbing from the over exertion. He raised his blade above his head and bought it down with all his mite on top of Eärendur who bought both his blades up into an x-shape to block and as the blades clashed he staggered slightly under the weight of the blow. This was Haldir's chance. With his sword still in place he moved his right leg behind Eärendur and forced all of his weight forward ramming in to Eärendur. This knocked him to the floor and forced both blades from his hands. Before Earendur knew what had happened he was looking up at Haldir who had his blade at his throat.  
"Yield" Haldir demanded, while standing over Eärendur . He was out of breath but victorious.  
"I yield, you have my blessing to court Lillieth, March Warden" he replied. Haldir smiled and held out his hand to Eärendur to help him to his feet. He was a good opponent after all. Eärendur shook his hand to thank him and they both walked over to where the two ellith stood. It was then that Haldir started to stagger slightly before collapsing on the ground in pain. It was then that Eärendur noticed the blood that stained his tunic from the wound on his back.  
"Rumil, Orophin! I need your help in taking your brother to the healers, quickly!" shouted Eärendur.  
It was in that moment he realised that he had gone too far and guilt filled his mind. As his brothers carried his away Lillieth slowly walked up to Eärendur with tears in her eyes and rage filled her eyes.  
"Lillieth…" Eärendur tried to say until her hand met his face at speed.  
"If anything happens to him I will never forgive you" she hissed while more tears filled her eyes. She then ran after Orophin and Rumil who carried Haldir to the Healer's.

Earendur had bought his head back to see that Nienna was stood before him.  
"Are you happy now? In not taking heed of my words, you have lost everything"…"including me" she spoke before running off after her friend. Eärendur just fell to his knees, he had taken it too far. But nobody realised he was just trying to protect her.

**You guys will be happy to know that in the next chapter you will finally find out who "he" is and what happened to her in the past back in Mirkwood! :) Please review and keep reading.**


	7. Chapter 7- Revealing the past

**A/N: N: Ok so I lied, I couldn't wait to write this chapter and share it with you. I know you must have wanted to find out who "he was". I will warn you this chapter contains some dark themes, but don't worry no rape. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it will end better than it started!**  
**Don't forget to review it please.**

I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters only my own.

They had managed to carry Haldir to the Healer's quarters where he was assessed and treated. The wound had opened slightly so it had to be closed back up and redressed. To stop infection a special ointment was applied which also helped with the pain. He had been settled into one of the beds in the healing quarter when Lillieth was finally allowed to see him. She walked over to the side of his bed and stroked the top of his head which was hot and covered in sweat. She took a cloth from the basin which was on top of a table at the side of his bed. She squeezed most of the water out then placed it on his head to help cool him down. He opened his eyes and smiled to see her.  
"You're here" Haldir smiled at her.  
"Where else would I be?" she replied.  
"I thought you would be with him" he asked.  
"Why? Look what he has done to you!" she said with a look of disbelief on her face.  
"He didn't do this, I did. I didn't tell him about my wound. He must be upset seeing me collapse".  
"He still shouldn't have done this. I don't care how he feels right now, I hate him. I just want you to get better" she sighed.  
"He gave us his blessing to court, you shouldn't hate him" he mumbled while stroking the side of her face.  
"Why are you defending him? You didn't like him before" she questioned.  
"I saw something inside him while we fought. He was desperate to beat me, I could tell he had a lot more skill than he used against me. But his judgement was clouded by his desperation to protect you. That is why you must not hate him" he explained. Tears started to roll down her face, she realised that he was just protecting her, yes he had gone too far but it was with the best intentions.  
"I must tell you about my past now, so you will understand why he is so protective" she said.  
"You don't have to" he pleaded.  
"No, I must. If we are to be together you need to know everything about me." She sobbed looking at the bruises which were fading from her wrists and thinking about the wounds she held which were not able to be seen. It was in the past she thought to herself looking at the beautiful ellon before her. She had to move on and let go of all the bad things that plagued her mind.  
"I was born in Mirkwood and my father was a high born ellon. My mother died after my birth and I was all my father had until he found Eärendur….." she smiled at this remembering what he was like as a child. "…He always managed to make me smile. As I was all my father had left, he thought it would be good to teach Eärendur the fighting style of my family so he could act as my protector. This way he would never lose me. The training was intense, and Eärendur was put under a lot of strain. It was constantly put in his head that he had to protect me when my father was away and not able to. He would have protected me regardless, as we were close friends. But, it this was his duty, or so he was made to believe. Even after hours of training he would still come into my room at night to read to me before I fell asleep….." she let out a sob before continuing "…over the years he protected me from harm, and we grew closer as friends. Years later my father returned with news. He had arranged a marriage for me with an ellon who was also high born, a lord in fact. My father invited him to come to our estate a few times so he could meet me. When were first introduced he seemed nice, I didn't care much for his looks but he seemed a genuinely nice ellon. One day my father offered him to stay with us for a week so we could spend time together, properly. However, in this week my father was called away on business and Eärendur was the one left to look after me and supervise the time I spent with my betrothed." She paused and looked over at Haldir who sat there in shock, but he gestured for her to continue.

"He would often make up things to make Eärendur leave us alone. All the other servants were afraid of him, so dared not enter. It was then his personality changed, I sensed something wrong in him. His feä [spirit] seemed distorted. He grew violent, often beating me, always where no one would be able to see. It hurt, and I cried myself to sleep many nights. Eärendur asked what the matter was but I couldn't tell him, I didn't want to dishonour my father and I was too scared of what he would do to me. We were often sat there alone, while he sent Eärendur to attend to chores. He grew more violent, and when he tried to force himself onto me, I refused. He forced me onto my knees and he grabbed my wrists so tight, the colour drained from my hands. I thought my wrists were about to break. Eärendur entered the room we were in without knocking, he grew suspicious of him and thought there was something wrong as he kept being sent away to do menial tasks.  
I will always remember the look of pure rage on his face, before he could talk he struck him hard on his face forcing him to let go of my wrists and fall to the ground with a loud thud. He checked on me to make sure I was ok then went over to where he lay, grabbed him by the throat and marched him to the entrance to our estate where he threw him down the steps and spat at him. He told him to leave and never come back. He stood there saying he had no right to him, he counteracted by drawing his sword but Eärendur reciprocated. He dared him to try it, he said that he had no right to treat me the way he did. He just walked away saying that he would be back." She broke out in floods of tears but tried her best to hold it back before continuing. Tears started to grow in his eyes too, he couldn't believe what his beautiful Lillieth had endured before.

"Eärendur suggested that I talk to my father that night as he was due back. When he arrived I tried to explain to him why I didn't want to marry him. He just shouted and demanded that I marry him, saying that I had no choice and no matter what the reason was I would have to learn to live with it. Eärendur even tried to explain to my father on my behalf but he didn't listen, he told him that he should know his place. We left his presence and that same night left Mirkwood to come here to Lórien. Eärendur heard about the Lady Galadriel and knew I would be safe here." She explained.  
When she had finished he gently held her arm and pulled her towards him so he could wrap his arms around her to comfort her as she cried into his chest.  
"I will never hurt you, you are safe here, and I will let nothing harm you ever again" he whispered to her as he held her close. She was finally his and this made him happy.

While he was holding her she felt extremely secure for the first time since leaving Mirkwood. She placed her hand on his chest so she could feel the beat of his heart, this seemed to comfort her. She knew that she would be safe her with him to protect her and Eärendur. She knew she must make things right with him soon, but for now didn't want to move from this prefect embrace. He was hers, this beautiful ellon was hers!.  
"Thank you for opening up to me, I know it must have been hard for you to say. Eärendur is a very honourable person and I hope to start again with him." He said, still holding her close.  
"I would like that" she smiled in response. He then placed a kiss upon her forehead and held her for the rest of the night. Nienna had witnessed the touching scene and decided she was too hard on Eärendur so decided she would have to go and speak with him.

Nienna searched everywhere for Eärendur and decided to go back to the training ground which was the last place she saw him. As she approached he was still sat in the same spot on his knees staring at the blood which stained the grass with tears in his eyes.  
"Eärendur" she cried out. "Have you been sat here this whole time?".  
"I didn't know where else to go" he replied looking up at the elleth before him she noticed he was shaking and went to kneel by the side of him. She took of the cloak she was wearing and placed it over his shoulders to keep him warm.  
"I'm sorry I left in such haste. Please forgive me and my harsh words. I spoke out in anger at the time" she explained. He looked at her and smiled but only slightly. He got up and said "How is Haldir, is he ok. I haven't killed him with my stupidity have I?".  
"He is fine, Lillieth is with him. You shouldn't worry about her, he will protect her. You just need to be a friend to her now" she replied.  
"She will never forgive me for this, please could I have some time alone to think. I will meet you later" he pleaded.  
"Ok. But before I go you must know that they both want to make amends with you" she said before leaving to go back to her talan. She was halfway there when she realised something. She ran back to the training ground towards Eärendur then leapt up to kiss him in a passionate embrace. This made them topple to the floor where she landed on top of him. Both of them happy in this moment.


	8. Chapter 8- The Aftermath

** A/N: N: Here the next chapter. This more of a filler one but still important for building relationships. There also a glimpse of what's to come. Enjoy and please carry on reading! I have lots of ideas left for this story!**

**E:Hello guys glad we've had so much interest in this story it's great since this is our first one and Foofie01 you are very quickly becoming my favourite person so far being our only reviewer. Please guys R&R and let us know what you think.**

**I don't own any of Tolkien's work or characters, only my own. **

Eärendur and Nienna lay on the field with their arms wrapped around each other, it was still night as the moon was still present in the sky.  
"May I ask you something, my lady?" Eärendur asked her.  
"What would that be, my lord?" she wondered.  
"Would I have your permission so I could court you?" Eärendur asked as Nienna looked at him in shock.  
She paused a while before replying, "Um…Well I don't have any family for you to ask so the decision is all mine. I will give you your answer once you have been to see Haldir".  
"Ok, my lady. I will go first thing in the morning, I wouldn't want to disturb him with my presence now" he replied.  
"That is very thoughtful, my lord. I suggest that we head back to our talans now, don't you?" Nienna suggested. He thought this was a good idea so they stood up and walked away from the field towards their talans.

Eärendur awoke as soon as the sun had risen in the sky, this was his day to make everything right. He finally had the chance to be happy himself, he knew that she would be safe now, especially in the arms of the March Warden. He could focus on being a really good friend to her, he had done his duty of being her protector. He couldn't get Nienna out of his mind, he wasn't used to showing his soft, caring side, but she definitely bought it out in him. No elleth had ever caught his eye before, so it was a new experience for him but he wasn't about to let the opportunity slip through his fingers. This was his last chance. He knew Nienna was the only elleth that would ever make him feel this way. He then decided to get up out of bed to change ready to go and see Haldir in the healing quarters. Once he was ready he made his way to the healing quarters.

Lillieth was waiting in the hall outside the quarters because a healer was reassessing Haldir's wound. It was then that Eärendur came through the door. She was surprised to see him and smiled at him and walked up to him. She stood in front of him then put her arms around him to embrace him in a hug, he then after the shock of not being slapped again he put his arms around her.  
"I'm sorry, _Penig_ [little one]. Will you forgive me?" he pleaded.  
"Of course I will you idiot, I am sorry too!" she replied, joy in her voice.  
"How is Haldir?" he questioned.  
"He is fine, the wound had opened a bit but the healers have helped. They are reassessing him now, that is why I am out here" she replied.  
"That is great news, I must see him and make amends" he said.  
"He wishes that too, the healers shouldn't be much longer now. I'll give you some time alone with him when they are done." She replied. The healers then exited the room where Haldir was and said that he had made good progress. Eärendur went inside to speak with Haldir.

Lillieth noticed Lady Galadriel approaching the healing quarter, looking as radiant as ever. She bowed before her and gave her a smile.  
"Lady Galadriel, What brings you here?" she asked.  
"I come to see the fool that I call my March Warden. I heard about yesterday's antics and those of the last few days. You have certainly bought a right character along with you to Lórien" the lady replied while smiling.  
"Aye, my lady. Don't be too harsh on them please" Lillieth begged.  
"Don't worry, my child. I only come to check on Haldir's condition and maybe give them a few wise words" she replied. Lillieth bowed her head, she felt responsible.  
"I feel so guilty, it was all over me. I could be the reason if anything bad happened" Lillieth said with a panicked tone.  
"You have done the opposite, my child. Your feä are now connected, this is helping his healing. His recovery should be much quicker than before" the Lady replied while placing a hand on Lillieth's face. This made Lillieth happy, knowing she was helping him without even knowing.

When Eärendur had entered into the room, Haldir looked in his direction. He was shocked to see him there. Eärendur walked over to the bed where Haldir lay and sat upon the chair next to his bed. Haldir was about to speak before he was cut off by Eärendur.  
"Please let me begin. I wish to apologise for yesterday, I didn't mean for it to go so far. I am the reason you are lying here now" Eärendur spoke, there was an apologetic tone in his voice.  
"I forgive you, I know your intentions were pure, you were just trying to protect her. She told me everything last night, how you helped her escape. If you weren't there anything could have happened to her and she wouldn't be with me now. I owe you everything." Haldir replied.  
"No, I let the thought of him consume me. I thought everyone would treat her the same way, for that I am sorry. I really do give you my blessing, you make her happy. That is all I wish for" Eärendur said with a bowed head. Haldir held out his hand which Eärendur grasped to shake his hand.  
"I thank you. You have shown your true self and that is someone I am sure I can be great friends with" Haldir stated.  
"One word of warning. If you ever hurt her. I will put you back in here. That is a threat and a promise" Eärendur said, still smiling.  
"I will never hurt her, you have my word." Haldir replied.

Lady Galadriel and Lillieth then walked through the door to where the two ellyn's were. They walked over to them and Lillieth went to Haldir's side grasping his hand.  
"Do not look worried, I am only here to check on our March Warden. It is a great sight to see you have already spoke and offered your apologies to each other. However, if this ever happens again, I will have no choice but to intervene." She paused before continuing and looking in Haldir's direction. "I am very grateful that you two have found each other and become connected. Her feä is helping you to heal, March Warden" she finished with a smile. Haldir looked at Lillieth and smiled in appreciation while placing his other hand over hers.  
"Thank you for your kind words, my lady. I assure you this will never happen again, I'm sure you will find that we will become great friends and comrades." Haldir said to the lady before him.  
"That is a pleasant thing to hear, I will now depart from your presence and leave you to heal. I have some business with Nienna. I am sure she will be free this evening for your company" she said giving a look in Eärendur's direction.  
Without warning she entered into Haldir's mind. She spoke to him, "I see something dark approaching from the corner of my vision. I see in your mind about Lillieth's past, I believe that he could be the darkness I see. Alert your brothers, tell nobody else. Everything is strangely unclear, you must be prepared for anything". He nodded to her. They all bowed their heads to the lady before she exited the room.

"What is that about, Eärendur?" Lillieth asked him bringing Haldir's attention back to the room.  
"I have asked to court her, I will get her reply this evening it seems" he replied.  
"That is excellent news, I am sure she will accept" she smiled at him.  
"I do hope so. I will leave you two alone, I have something I need to prepare" he replied before leaving. "Don't do anything I wouldn't" he smiled before closing the door behind him, a pillow hit the door, missing its target. Lillieth sighed, she had hoped he had matured if only a little.  
Haldir turned to look at Lillieth and stroked her face before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.  
"You have made me the happiest ellon alive; I will never let anything happen to you. Once I heal I will take you back to finish our swim that got interrupted the other night" he told her staring deep into her eyes, he was worried about what Galadriel had told him.  
"I would very much like that" she replied as she moved closer to him, he then put his strong arms around her. She could feel his chest next to her body and she placed her hand on his chest to feel the warmth and the muscles that lay beneath the material of his tunic. His heart beat in a steady pace but increased when her lips met with his.  
"Until then I am not leaving your side" she added, blissfully happy in the moment.  
"There is one thing I must tell you, I was using that pillow" he chuckled. Lillieth giggled in response, "I am sorry".

The sun was setting over Lórien and Eärendur was sitting his talan awaiting the arrival of Nienna, he hadn't long arrived back at his talan from preparing a surprise for her. A knot grew in his stomach in anticipation of the answer she was yet to give. Seconds seemed to last like hours, the only thing he could think about was their embrace they shared last night in the training field. He checked his appearance in the mirror, for what seemed like the hundredth time. He wanted to impress her so he wore a tunic which was green, which matched the shade of his eyes. His hair was braided to keep strands from out his face and a brooch of the Lórien leaf. He smoothed down his clothes, once again checking his appearance, but he had no time to prepare anything else.  
He then heard a knock on his door. His mouth went dry, palms started to sweat and his heartbeat quickened to a pace that any elven ear could decipher from afar. On the other side of the door stood Nienna. His heart nearly stopped as he beheld her.  
"Nienna, you look…." He was lost for words, "…beautiful". She smiled at his remark. Her hair was left to hang freely over her shoulders, curls framed her face. She adorned a headdress which a small gem hung from; it fell just between her eyebrows. Her gown of the finest elven silk was of a soft pink which complimented the slight colour in her cheeks, it also clung to every curve of her body. Eärendur was left speechless, after all, this elleth could be his.  
"It is a special night, isn't it? I do have your answer" escaped her lips which he watched intently, wanting them to meet with his. He stayed silent for a moment, drinking in the sight that was before him. Nienna giggled to herself at how entranced he appeared. She couldn't help but admit he was looking rather handsome tonight.  
"Well, will you put me out of my misery, my lady?" he asked impatiently.  
"Yes, my answer is yes" she replied with a beaming smile on her face. He looked at her but couldn't speak. 'This beautiful elleth actually likes me' he thought to himself. He tried to compose himself before he opened his arms and placed them around Nienna.  
"You have just made me very happy, my lady" the words managed to escape him.  
"You are not the only one" she replied as they continued to hold each other. He had suggested they take a walk in the forest so they could be alone. They walked hand in hand, what seemed like forever.  
"Have you a place in mind for where we are going, you don't seem to be wandering aimlessly" Nienna questioned him.  
"Just wait and see, my lady" he replied.

After a while Nienna noticed light coming from in between the trees, this intrigued her. As they walked closer she noticed a blanket laid out with a basket placed upon it. Surrounding the blanket and in the branches of the trees was the light which she saw earlier. She now saw that it came from what seemed like hundreds of candles.

"Oh Eärendur, it is beautiful" she said as she looked around, admiring the view. She took in a deep breath and she could smell that something was burning. "Eärendur, I can smell something burning. I hope none of the trees have caught alight." She said inspecting the area. It was then Eärendur snapped out of his daze of staring at Nienna. He noticed he had walked too close to one of the candles and set his sleeve alight, but patted it out before she could notice. He then ushered her to sit down on the blanket while he opened the basket full of food.  
"You set this up, before knowing what my answer would be?" she asked as she helped herself to the food that was laid out for her.  
"I was more than a little confident you would say yes. I was more nervous about showing up and everything being on fire" he replied.  
"Well, it is perfect. Thank you for going to so much trouble" she said smiling.  
They sat there eating and enjoying small talk for the rest of the night, greatly enjoying each other's company. While they were talking, Nienna noticed the mark on Eärendur's sleeve, it came to her that it must be the burning smell she had noticed earlier.  
"You set yourself on fire didn't you?" she asked holding back a laugh.  
"No it was my passion for you that set me alight" he replied, trying to hide the truth. Nienna couldn't help but laugh at him.  
"Just admit it, you walked to close to a candle" she said.  
"Ok, I admit it. Please never speak of it again. Especially to Lillieth and definitely not Haldir" he replied, feeling embarrassed but laughed at the thought of it. They sat there all night in each other's arms, staring up at the stars through the canopy of trees.


	9. Chapter 9- The Warning

**A/N: Hey guys, 9th chapter is up! This chapter also has suggestion of what is to come. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Please don't forget to review!**

**I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters only my own.**

A few weeks had passes since the confrontation and the two couples had joined. Haldir had spent the weeks healing, as he didn't want to risk the wound re-opening. He thought it best he stayed in the care of the healers and allow Lillieth to start working on her music. She still visited him every morning and every night, she couldn't bear to be apart from him. Nienna focused on her tailoring and because of her talent as a healer, she helped Haldir to recover from his injury. She didn't see Eärendur much because he was sent for duty on the borders, leaving with Haldir's brothers Orophin and Rumil. There wasn't any activity there so they spent it in the tree's on lookout.

Nienna sat working on a new tapestry to hang in Lady Galadriel's and Lord Celeborn's chamber while awaiting the return of Eärendur from duty. She wove the green and golden threads together to make the piece. She was creating a banner with the leaf of Lórien with elven script for the border, the symbol of Galadriel and Celeborn's home. Eärendur was due back this evening and she had planned to cook him food so they could spend some time together, which they rarely got to do over the last few weeks. She then heard a knock on the door before shouting "Come in".  
To her surprise and joy it was Eärendur. He stood there with a smile on his face and arms wide open awaiting her to come over to him. She quickly stood up and ran over to him, placing her arms around him. He held her closely and kissed her upon the head.  
"I have missed you, my lady" he said. She just stood there, enjoying hearing his voice. A tear fell down her cheek as she looked up into his eyes before replying.  
"I have missed you too, and it has only been a few days".  
"I know, my lady. But I am here now, things to be well out there. I am not needed for now" he said, so happy he finally had her in his arms.  
"Will you join me for dinner tonight?" she asked him.  
"Of course, my lady. Where else would I be, but in your company?" he replied and she smiled at his response. He suggested he go back to his talan and change and that he would meet her at her talan in the evening as the sun was setting.

Lillieth was practicing her harp playing skills with the other elves. She was playing the piece she had written before, it was inspired by the beauty of Lórien. The other elves were impressed with how quickly she had progressed and with her writing skills. She had hoped she could play to Haldir one day and she started to day dream about him, she couldn't wait until they got to spend time on their own properly again. The sight of a young ellon standing in front of her startled her which bought her out of her daze.  
"Sorry my lady, I didn't mean to startle you. I came to give you this" he said before handing her the folded up piece of parchment which he held in his hand. She thanked him then he bowed before leaving. She quickly opened it up, it was a note from Haldir.

_Meleth nîn_ [My love]  
_I have great news, the healer has saw fit that my wound is fully healed and is letting me leave the quarters today. I promised you that swim when I healed, so tonight meet me at my talan when the sun is setting and we will take it from there.  
Your Beloved,_

_Haldir._

~

As soon has she read it she smiled, she knew that this was the night they were to be fully alone. For the rest of the day she couldn't wait to leave the music hall to get ready to see Haldir. After a couple of hours she could finally leave. She ran back to her talan to get ready and saw that there was a gown laid out on her bed. She knew it was from Nienna because it was made from the finest elven silk. It was red in colour with gold leaf trim. It wasn't the norm for elliths [female elves] to wear red but Nienna's work always stood out from the rest. Lillieth admired it before seeing a piece of parchment laid upon it with words in Nienna's writing.

~  
Lillieth, I made this for you. I heard that Haldir was leaving the quarters and knew he would be planning a special night for you. This should make you stand out.  
Nienna.

~

She smiled to herself, she had lovely friends and felt blessed to have them. It was the first time in her life she felt special and loved. She no longer had to worry that anybody would hurt her. She went through to her bedroom to the silver basin by the side of her bed. She washed her face before braiding her hair and placing the gown on, she remembered to put on an underdress as she knew the night would involve swimming in the pool where they shared their first kiss. One final thing she remembered to put on was the necklace he had given to her last time they ventured out into the forest. She sat at the table in her talan with butterflies in her stomach, she was nervous but didn't know why. Soon the sun started to descend in the sky so she knew that she should go and meet with Haldir at his talan. On the way there she felt like she was dancing on a cloud, she was so happy. Although his talan was not far from hers it felt like it had taken her longer.

Haldir stood in his talan, he too with butterflies in his stomach. He felt thankful he was finally there so he could be independent. He hated people taking care of him, after all he was the great March Warden of Lórien. He rarely ever needed the healer's skills as he was a great fighter.  
A knock on the door of his talan he smiled, he knew this would be Lillieth. He opened the door and was amazed at the sight before him. It took him a few moments before he could compose himself, he stepped forward and placed his lips onto hers kissing her with passion.  
"The Valar have blessed me. _Lle naa vanima_, _Meleth nîn_ [You are beautiful, my love]" He whispered in her ear.  
"Well they have blessed me too" She smiled. They sat and ate some fruit and bread which he had bought fresh from the market earlier and they stared intently at one another.  
"I am glad I have been discharged from the Healing quarters, I have been looking forward to this night." Haldir said to break the silence, even though they were both content.  
"Me too" is all Lillieth could say, she was in awe of the ellon in front of her. She was mesmerised with his long flowing hair, his broad shoulders, just everything seemed to entice her. Haldir then took her hand leading her out of his talan and to the edge of the woods. They walked down the familiar path of the forest to their own personal sanctuary where they could be alone. He led her to the grass underneath the willow tree where they sat. She sat in his lap while he held her, it was here she felt the safest. The memories of the past felt like a story she had been told, everything bad had disappeared, even the bruises that once discoloured her wrists. She had everything she had ever wanted, to be loved. She placed her hand on the side of his face, and traced the way over his face with her fingers finally reaching his lips. He then put his hand over hers and kissed each of her fingertips, this sent shivers throughout her body.  
"What about that swim then, Meleth nîn?" he asked her. She nodded before getting up and slipping her gown over her head. She then went over to the water's edge and slowly walked in. He soon followed her taking off his clothes and jumping in. He immediately swam over to her and kissed her passionately on the lips and she met his eagerness running her fingers through his now wet hair. When they broke for air she broke free and swam away from him giggling. When he tried to catch her she swam away from him again and again.  
"What is the matter? Am I too quick for the great March Warden?" she laughed, mocking him. He looked at her with a mischievous look on his face. He swam under water resurfacing right in front of her grabbing her around the waist to bring her closer to him. They stood there staring at each other, both breathless. He then picked her up in his arms forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist and he carried her to the edge of the pool. Leaning against a rock he kissed her softly on the lips.  
"Will you be my betrothed, Meleth nîn? Please say you will be mine forever " he asked quickly, he was nervous about tonight, he wanted her to be his forever. His heart beat quickened and she placed her hand on chest over his heart.  
"I will Meleth nîn. I would wish for nothing better than spend all of eternity being yours" she replied.  
"You have made me the happiest ellon alive" he said before adding, "Ni Meleth Le [I love you], Lillieth". This surprised her, this was the first time he had told her that he loved her.  
"Ni Meleth Le, Haldir" she replied with a smile on her face.  
He pressed her close against the rock while he kissed her lips softly trailing kisses down towards her neck, this sent what seemed like electricity, through her body. She looked up into his eyes which were now full of desire and lust and she placed her arms around his neck to kiss him on the lips. The kiss was full of passion and she slowly let her hands caress his neck moving down towards his chest. She traced the outline of his muscles, something she had only done through fabric before. The feel of his bare skin was like pure ecstasy to her. He looked at her with an inquisitive look as she caressed the muscles of his back.  
"We should not do this now. We must wait and do it properly when we are _Hervenn_ [husband] and _Hervess_ [wife]. It is only what you deserve, Meleth nîn." He said as he kissed her forehead with a soft, gentle kiss. She wanted it so much at that moment but agreed.  
"Come it is getting late, we should head back" She said as she exited the pool. He couldn't help but admire how the fabric of her underdress clung to the curves of her body revealing its shape. Desire started to build inside him again but he had to shake it off before he followed her.

It was morning when she awoke. She smiled as she looked over to see Haldir sleeping next to her, with his arm around her waist. 'He looks just as handsome when he is asleep' she thought to herself. She could lie here forever in his strong arms, just there in what seemed like heaven to her. A loud knock on the door disturbed her lovely thoughts. Haldir awoke and jumped out of bed to see who it could be.  
"Haldir, Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn require you in their presence, it is a matter of duty." Said Eärendur before adding, "Don't try and hide, Lillieth. I know you are there".  
"Do you know what about?" Haldir asked while trying to put clothes on.  
"I'm not sure. I have been called along with your brothers, also" he replied. Once Haldir was ready he went over to Lillieth kissing her softly on the lips.  
"I must go. I shall be back soon, I promise" he said to her before leaving with Eärendur. Lillieth sat in Haldir's bed feeling lost. She knew that he had his duties being March Warden but she had hoped they would have a bit more time alone before he was summoned. It was something she would have to learn to cope with. After all, Nienna has had to do the same. At least she had the company of her friend.

Eärendur and Haldir approached the main hall to speak with Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. The lord and lady were sat in chairs and they stood as the two wardens approached them.  
"Haldir! It is good to see you are now fully healed. I am happy you have found happiness with Lillieth, it warms my heart" Galadriel said to him as he bowed before his lord and lady.  
"Thank you, my lady. Is there a problem with the safety of Lórien?" He replied  
"We have heard there have been sighting of orcs between Mirkwood and Lórien and we believe we could be in danger." Lord Celeborn spoke.  
"How many numbers?" asked Haldir.  
"We aren't sure but there is a small group we believe. Now you have healed fully you must resume your duty as March Warden. We need you to go to the border and investigate tomorrow morning. Eärendur and your brothers will go with you. There are already some of your wardens there so if anything happens you have them to help" Celeborn ordered.  
"I will leave first thing tomorrow, my lord. I will ensure the safety of Lórien" replied Haldir as he once again bowed to the lord and lady that stood before him.  
"Now go and prepare yourselves." Celeborn replied. Haldir nodded before turning to leave. As he done so, Lady Galadriel entered into his head. "This could be the darkness I sensed before, be on your guard. I cannot tell what you will face." Haldir looked back in her direction and gave a slight nod before he finally exited the hall.

**Please don't forget to review. Stick with me guys! :)**


	10. Chapter 10- The Ambush

**A/N: N: Hey guys, sorry it's been a few days since I last posted a new chapter. Been rather busy with uni. Finally finished this chapter and I really hope you like it. **  
**Please don't forget to review!**

**E:Hey guys just wanna say thanks to you who are following our story, those who have favourited us, to Foofie01 for reveiwing and just everyone who's took the time to read it. you're all awesome. This is were the story kicks of towards our big finale so please keep reading and review please. hope you enjoy.**

**I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters, only my own. **

Haldir was making his way to Lillieth's talan, he had to say goodbye to her before he left for duty on the border. He thought that this patrol would not be straight forward. He stood before the door and knocked upon it, waiting eagerly for Lillieth to answer. She opened the door and he picked her up holding her tightly against him.  
"I have to go to the borders, _Meleth nîn_ [my love]" he said with sadness in his voice. She looked into his eyes, the sadness he felt was mirrored in her eyes. Neither of them wanted to be parted.  
"I know, please come back to me" she said in a hushed voiced wrapping her arms around him tightly.  
"You could have at least shut the door" came Nienna's voice from inside the talan.  
"Lady Nienna" he said whilst putting Lillieth down and bowing to Nienna slightly. "I thought you would be with Eärendur" he enquired.  
"We've already said our goodbyes. He's gone to prepare with the rest of the soldiers who are awaiting the arrival of their leader" she replied.  
"Nienna came around to keep me company. She knew I would be sad about you leaving" Lillieth said shyly.  
"It is good to know you have someone to keep you company and look after you while I am away" he said to her smiling in Nienna's direction. "I must leave now, as Nienna mentioned my troops are waiting for me. _Novaer, Meleth nîn_ [goodbye, my love]" he said while kissing her passionately on the lips. A tear rolled down Lillieth's face as he left for duty. Nienna came up behind her to give her a reassuring hug.  
"He will be fine. There is a reason why he is Lórien's March Warden" she said easing Lillieth's pain.  
Eärendur and the other troops stood at the gate of Caras Galadhon awaiting the arrival of Haldir. Eärendur knew where he was, saying farewell to Lillieth. He knew that he loved her, and wished he hadn't given Haldir such a hard time. He vowed to protect Haldir and make it up to them one day. Haldir arrived looking at all the elves stood before him. They wore a grey tunic with a wraparound cloak, which would help hide them in the trees, and the other terrain of Lórien they all knew well. They all had a similar blade strapped to their side as he had. They also had a quiver of arrows strapped to their back and their bows in hand. The only one who stood was Eärendur who adorned his green travelling cloak that he had arrived in Lórien in and his distinct bow which was different to the others. Haldir turned to his brothers who were stood in front of him.  
"Rumil you will take your company along the Northern border, Orophin you will patrol the eastern border. Me and my company will take the southern border. If there are orcs coming from Mirkwood they will have to cross the Anduin, so focus on the areas closest to the river. Take your men and leave now" Haldir ordered. His persona of March Warden had taken full effect again.  
"Nice to have you back, brother" Orophin said as he patted Haldir on the back, before he left with his group. Eärendur approached the March Warden.  
"Am I in your company?" Eärendur asked him.  
"Yes, you are new to the woods of Lórien. I would have you near me so you can learn" Haldir replied. "Plus you would not want to face Nienna if anything happened to me" Eärendur joked. Haldir smiled as he thought back to the elliths who were awaiting their return in Caras Galadhon.  
"True, but I doubt you would want to face Lillieth if anything happened to me. So we should agree to look out for one another, to spare ourselves the wrath of our elliths." Haldir joked in reply.  
"Shall we go?" asked Eärendur. Haldir nodded and signalled for the rest of the company to move out. There were 50 of them in total. They started their way through the forest towards the southern border.

It was now dark and they had been travelling all day and had found no sign of any Orc activity or activity of any kind. They had stopped for the night to make up camp so they could rest and start up again in a few hours. Most were sitting talking amongst their selves; others were eating Lembas bread or sipping water. Sitting on his own looking back towards Lórien was Haldir. Eärendur noticed and decided to take a seat next to him.  
"Thinking about her already" Eärendur asked him.  
"I haven't stopped since the moment I left her" Haldir said with a sigh.  
"She will be ok with Nienna. You need to keep your wits about you out here. I know you wish to return to her" he replied.  
"I have been meaning to ask you something" Haldir said looking towards Eärendur.  
"What is that? You don't need to ask for my permission to marry her, it is gladly given" he said.  
"That is good to know, but is not my question. Why do you always wear that old cloak? I don't think I have seen you parted from it since you arrived here" Haldir asked.  
"I think it was my fathers, but I can't be sure" Eärendur replied.  
"I'm sorry if you would rather not speak of this subject, I was just curious" he said placing a hand on Eärendur's shoulder.  
"No, it is fine. When they found my village, Lillieth's father found me wrapped in this hiding under one of the beds. I vaguely remember an ellon telling me to stay quiet and placing the cloak around me. If you don't mind, could I ask you a question?" He described.  
"Anything you wish to know, I will answer" Haldir told him.  
"Where did you get your wound?" he asked in response.  
"The battle of Helms Deep. I led the elves that helped the men of Rohan to hold Helms Deep. I think there was around 600 of us in total as well as the now king Aragorn, Legolas prince of Mirkwood and Gimli son of Gloin. We face 10,000 Uruk Hai. The elves and myself as well as king Aragorn and his companions held the Deeping wall. While falling back to the keep I was struck in the arm, as I killed the Uruk Hai that struck me, another struck me in the back. Teren, he's the blacksmith now but he was a soldier in my company, a very good one. He retired after the battle, saying he was sick of war. He came to my aid and carried me into the Hornburg where the healers saved my life. One of them being the lady Nienna who came with us." Haldir explained to him.

When Haldir had finished telling his story the scout he had sent previously returned. He quickly came up to Haldir and saluted him.  
"March Warden, I came across a trail, it looks like Orcs." The scout reported.  
"Get the elves up and we will follow this trail" Haldir ordered as the scout saluted him again.  
They quickly found the trail that the scout had found and Haldir ordered them to follow it until they reached what looked like a village. Eärendur approached Haldir curious that the village did not look to be elven.  
"What is this place?" he asked the March warden.  
"This village was set up by the men of Gondor. It is a trading post which was used for trade between that of our kind and the men of Gondor. Lady Galadriel gave permission for it to be set up within our borders as a show of good will to men. We should investigate" he explained as they approached the large village. The watch towers on the edge of the village appeared to have been set on fire. The dead were laying everywhere, soldiers and civilians alike. Even women and children. The sight turned Eärendur's stomach. As they were glancing around Eärendur realised something, if the Orcs had crossed the Anduin, why had the tracks led to the village from within their territory. He was about to tell Haldir when an arrow came out of one of the houses. It struck the elf next to Haldir in the throat. Realisation hit Haldir as he drew his sword.  
"Ambush" He shouted as Orcs piled out of the buildings in every direction.  
Eärendur quickly notched an arrow and fired at the nearest Orc. It struck him in the eye and he notched another arrow firing off again, hitting an Orc that was coming behind him. He noticed Haldir had gone straight to his sword and was taking on many foes at a time. So were many of the elves, there was not enough space for them to effectively use there bows. Eärendur discarded his bow and drew his sword and dagger killing any Orc he passed whilst making his way to Haldir's side. An Orc had made his way behind Haldir, he was too preoccupied by the three he had in front of him to notice the fourth coming behind. He'd dispatched his last enemy when he heard an angry growl from behind him. As he turned he noticed the Orc blade coming down on him. Seemingly out of nowhere a dagger was thrown and sunk deep into the side of the orcs skull, it fell sideways to the ground, dead. Eärendur retrieved his dagger from the orcs skull and looked at Haldir.  
"You really need to be more aware of your surroundings, March Warden" Eärendur said with a small smile on his lips.  
"Thank you Eärendur, it seems I do" he said returning the smile and looking around at the battle field seeing all the Orcs were dead. He called over to one of his soldiers.  
"I want you to do a count of how many are wounded, how many are dead and organise burials for the people of this village. Burn the orcs corpses and tell the others to search every building for survivors" He ordered. The soldier saluted and followed Haldir's orders organising the other soldiers into groups.

Eärendur was part of the search party, looking for any survivors. He found what looked like a store, various foods and other tradable goods were inside. His elf ears soon picked up a sound, it seemed to be a quiet sobbing coming from behind one of the shelves. He moved it out of the way to find a door which he opened to find a young girl sat in the corner of the room crying softly. She looked no older than five and she was of the race of men. Her hair was dark and cut into a bob. He approached her not wanting to startle her.  
"Hello" he said in a soft tone, trying not to scare her. She turned to look at him, noticing his presence for the first time. She immediately tried to scurry away from him.  
"It is ok, I am not going to hurt you" he whispered softly to her. "My name is Eärendur, I am an elf. All the nasty Orcs are dead, you are safe. What is your name?". Her head turned to look at Eärendur while taking in his appearance. He noticed her eyes were the deepest brown. Her cheeks were full and round, she was in general a very cute, little girl.  
"Laessiel. Are you one of the wood fairies?" she asked the elf before her. Eärendur laughed at this before replying, "I am a wood elf, yes. I live deep in the forest in Caras Galadhon". He noticed that she was shivering so he took of his cloak and wrapped her in it. She seemed excited by this "Is this a magic cloak? My daddy told me that the wood fairies were magic" she asked him.  
"Yes it will keep you safe from the monsters" he said to her picking her up and carrying her towards the door. "Can you tell me what happened her, Laessiel?" he asked the girl. She looked down again, sadness in her face.  
"My daddy woke me up, I could hear screaming and the monsters outside. He put me in the secret room and told me not to be scared" she said… "After he hid me I heard the monsters break into our store. I couldn't hear my daddy after that". Eärendur walked through the door to outside where the rest of the elves were, finishing up. He thanked the Valar that the Orcs were burning and the bodies buried. Eärendur looked down at her to see her face lit up with happiness. "Lots of fairies" she shouted. Haldir noticed the green bundle in Eärendur's arms. He walked up to them and noticed the little girl in Eärendur's arms staring at him. The little bundle took her hand and grasped some of his hair in her hand and tugged a bit.  
"Your hair is really soft, fairy man" the little girl spoke. Haldir was shocked and Eärendur seemed on the brink of laughter.  
"Well, well. What have we got here then" Haldir questioned Eärendur.  
"I am Laessiel. I lived her with my daddy. Are you the king of the fairies?" she asked Haldir. Eärendur could not contain himself any longer and burst out laughing.  
"Something like that" he replied with a smile of his own. "We should make our way back to Lórien and report back to Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn. I assume Laessiel here is the only survivor" Haldir suggested. Eärendur nodded.  
"Is my daddy dead?" Laessiel asked Eärendur. He bowed his head and replied.  
"I am sorry _Penig_ [little one] I think he is. But don't worry I will look after you." He said to her. Tears streamed from her eyes as she hugged Eärendur.  
"What does _Penig _mean?" she enquired.  
"Little one" he replied as he comforted her. They followed the other elves behind Haldir back in the direction of Caras Galadhon. It would take them a day to get back so they soon would set up camp to rest. Especially now they had a human child with them, she would require more rest than they did.

It was dark outside Lillieth's talan and her and Nienna were sat talking about Haldir and Eärendur over supper. They laughed remembering what it was like before and Lillieth told her she had some news to tell her.  
"Me and Haldir are now betrothed" she said with a beaming smile on her face.  
"Oh, that is wonderful news! I can't wait to make your gown" replied Nienna. At that moment they heard a knock on the door, Lillieth looked at her friend smiling. She couldn't wait to be in Haldir's arms again. She ran towards the door to open it and when she did it wasn't Haldir stood there. Her heart sank and fear coursed through her body. An ellon stood there who's hair was grey and shoulder length. His stare was icy cold and face seemed aged, unlike an elf. There seemed like there was no warmth in his entire being. Nienna sensed there was something wrong about him.  
"Galdrith!" Lillieth shouted in horror "Am man oduleg hi? [What are you doing here?]" She snarled.  
"I have come to collect what is mine" the ellon replied, taking a step forward. Nienna appeared and put herself between the ellon and Lillieth.  
"I think you better leave" she ordered him.  
"You try and order me, you should know your place" he growled as he slapped her full force with the back of his hand sending her into a nearby table knocking her out.  
"Nienna" Lillieth cried out. Galdrith grabbed Lillieth by the throat.  
"You're coming with me now" he barked, she bit his arm and he punched her in the face, making her bleed. Knocking her unconscious as well.


	11. Chapter 11- The pursuit

** A/N: Chapter 11! Aren't you guys lucky, 2 chapters in one day! The story is building now and I hope you stick with it as the action is only just beginning. Hope you guys enjoy, and please don't forget to review!**

**I do not own Tolkien's work or characters, only those I have created.**

Haldir led his group towards the gate of Caras Galadhon, Eärendur was still carrying the green bundle that was now asleep in his arms.  
"For one who has been through an ordeal at such a young age she is rather…" Haldir thought of the best word to describe her, "…..energetic".  
"I suppose you could say that" Eärendur replied.  
"What do you plan on doing with her?" Haldir asked him.  
"I will look after her. She was found in an abandoned village as I was. It seems as though the Valar have given me a task." He replied looking at the bundle in his arms.  
They made their way through the gate towards the centre of the city. They needed to speak with the Lord and Lady. After walking for a while in silence a voice broke the silence.  
"The trees are sparkly" the little bundle said as she started amazingly at the tree tops and the talans above. "Do fairies live in the trees?".  
"Yes we do, _Penig_. But I keep telling you, we are elves not fairies" Eärendur replied.  
"No you are fairies, you are magic. My daddy told me about it." She said.  
"What did he tell you?" Haldir spoke up.  
"That you all lived in the forest and had a really beautiful queen" she said, again stroking his hair.  
"You really do like my hair, don't you?" Haldir asked.  
"It's really, really soft." She said now pulling her hand back, getting shy.  
"How would you like to meet our beautiful queen?" Eärendur asked the little girl. Laessiel gasped and seemed very excited. She nodded her head, very enthusiastically.

Eärendur, Haldir and the small bundle made their way into the great hall where they awaited Galadriel's presence along with Lord Celeborn's. After a short wait they arrived.  
"Ah, March Warden it is good to see you back in one piece, and you too Eärendur" the lady said. She then noticed the small girl wrapped in a green cloak staring at her.  
"And who is this lovely little creature" she added looking at Laessiel.  
"My name is Laessiel. Pleased to meet you, fairy queen" she said. Galadriel immediately laughed at the comment.  
"I have never been given such a lovely title before, my child." She approached more closely to talk with Eärendur and Laessiel while Lord Celeborn heard the report of what happened from Haldir.  
"My lord something didn't seem right with this. The village seems to have been dispatched the night before we reached it. There was a trail laid for us to follow where they were waiting for us." Haldir described.  
"It seems orchestrated to me. I didn't believe the Orcs to be this organised still. I will have to send word to Gondor about their trade settlement." Celeborn replied.  
"If that is all, my Lord. May I be excused?" asked Haldir. The lord nodded. As they left to leave Celeborn spoke again.  
"Eärendur would it be ok if we spoke to Laessiel briefly. Being the only survivor she may have heard something about where the attack came from". Eärendur looked down at Laessiel.  
"Is that ok with you, _Penig_?" he asked the bundle in his arms.  
"Yes that's ok. As long as I can keep your cloak, it makes me feel safe" she replied before Eärendur lowered her to the floor where she walked over to the Lord and Lady with the oversized cloak dragging behind her.  
Haldir gestured for Eärendur to leave with him so they could go and meet with Lillieth and Nienna.

They were approaching Lillieth's talan. Eärendur noticed a disturbing detail, the door was open.  
"Why would the door be open?" Eärendur questioned before they both bolted towards the talan.  
When they arrived, in a heap near the door, was Nienna unconscious on the floor. Eärendur rushed to her side.  
"Nienna, Nienna. _Meleth nîn_, please wake up" panic seeped into his voice as he tried to bring her round he then noticed the red mark upon her cheek and anger filled him. Haldir was then storming through the talan to find Lillieth, there was no sign of her.  
"Who did this to you?" Eärendur said with anger in his voice, he would kill anyone who could do this to an elleth, let alone his beloved Nienna. Nienna stirred and realised she was being held, she opened her eyes to see Eärendur looking down at her.  
"Eärendur" she said as she flung her arms around him, she was so glad he was here.  
A loud crash came from the kitchen where Haldir had thrown a bowl against the wall, he did this in anger before making his way over to Eärendur and Nienna.  
"She has gone Eärendur, Lillieth isn't here!" he shouted.  
"Oh Valar, Lillieth!" Nienna exclaimed realising what must have happened "He was here" she shouted.  
"Who?" Haldir snapped.  
"Lillieth called him Galdrith. It must have been her betrothed from Mirkwood. She seemed terrified of him" she said.  
"Galdrith. Haldir we need to go speak to Galadriel now!" he snapped. Haldir fell to his knees with tears falling form his eyes.  
"I will kill him if he lays one finger upon her. Even that is too good for him" he hissed, the sadness quickly being replaced by anger. He then felt Eärendur shaking him.  
"Haldir, Now! We cannot waste any time!" he snapped. Haldir nodded and they all made their way back to Galadriel and Celeborn's quarters. Haldir stormed in, his mind clouded by anger. Laessiel was happily sat with Celeborn and Galadriel when Haldir approached. The way he stormed towards them, intimidated her and she quickly hid behind Galadriel.  
"Haldir, what is the problem?" Lord Celeborn asked as he stood up and placed his hands on Haldir's shoulders.  
"Someone has taken Lillieth my lord. They struck lady Nienna and took Lillieth. The ambush must have been a diversion to lead us away. If this person is indeed in league with the Orcs I need to assemble the troops and track her down." Haldir pleaded.  
"I cannot allow that. If indeed these Orcs are being led, we have no idea how many there are, where they are coming from or if this is another rouse to lead our army away from Lórien. I know what she means to you but I cannot put our home at risk. We need people to defend here as well" Lord Celeborn suggested.  
"Then I will go alone. I don't care what it takes, I will get her back" Haldir snapped forgetting who he was talking to.  
"You will not do this alone." Said Eärendur placing a hand upon his shoulder.  
"I will allow you to take a few men with you, I cannot allow any more than 30. I will put your outburst down to your emotional state, just remember who you are speaking to in future" said Lord Celeborn. Haldir bowed and apologised.  
"I am sorry, my lord. I love her dearly and I am clouded by rage. Thank you" he said.

Laessiel peered around from behind Galadriel's dress and was happy to see Eärendur. She then ran towards him where he picked her up.  
"Eärendur" the little girl shouted as she hugged him. "The soft haired fairy scareded me".  
Haldir heard and felt sorrow. Nienna was shocked, who was this small child and why was she so attached to Eärendur.  
"Who is this Eärendur?" Nienna questioned.  
"_I eneth nîn_ Laessiel [My name is Laessiel]" the small child grinned happily. "The queen taught me some fairy language".  
"I found her in a house in a village we found which was destroyed by Orcs. She is the only survivor. I'm going to take care of her" Eärendur said, apprehensive to what Nienna's reply would be.  
She stood there shocked for a moment but then realised this is how he found. He must feel a connection to the girl. She took a step towards them.  
"Hello Laessiel, I am Nienna." Nienna introduced herself to the little girl.  
"You're really pretty. Are you Eärendur's wife?" she asked Nienna.  
"No, not wife. We are courting" Nienna replied.  
Laessiel reached up to grab Eärendur's hair tugging slightly so he would look at her. He then leant up and whispered in his ear, "You should marry her, she is really pretty".  
"Between you and me, I wish for that." He whispered back. The little girl smiled.  
"I'm sorry to interrupt but we really need to get organised to get going. I can't stand around waiting" Haldir insisted. They nodded.  
"I will look after the child while you are away. Would you like to learn how to speak more fairy, Laessiel?" Galadriel asked the small child. She nodded in reply and Eärendur hugged her to say goodbye before placing her on the ground where she quickly gave Nienna a hug before she ran over to the elven queen.  
"I advise you to take Nienna with you in case of injury. Also Teren would be a great asset to you" The lady suggested to them. They exited the hall to prepare and Haldir and Eärendur looked at each other, knowing they were thinking the same thing.  
"As you March Warden, I insist that you do not come with us, it will be dangerous. We can take another healer instead. You will stay with Rumil, I assume he too is back in Caras Galadhon" Haldir ordered.  
"I must come, I cannot let you go alone, it is my fault she was taken" she pleaded.  
"It is not your fault. He hit you, he is a dog and he will die like one for his actions" Eärendur fumed. He was mad himself but had no idea how Haldir must be feeling, he was in love with her after all.

They arrived at Teren's workshop where he was forging more blades. He quickly noticed the March Warden and stood to attention with a salute.  
"March Warden, what may I do for you?" he asked.  
"I require your assistance. Someone has kidnapped the lady Lillieth, I must get her back. But I am limited with the number of troops I can take. You were one of the finest warriors I have met, will you join us" Haldir pleaded with the blacksmith. Teren pondered for a while before noticing the mark on Nienna's face.  
"Was that mark of his doing, my lady?" He asked Nienna. She nodded in reply before he gave his answer. "This scum needs to die. I am with you" he replied. He didn't agree with this kind of behaviour. He turned to Eärendur and said "I have your weapons ready they are hanging over on that wall. I designed them the way you wanted. Your sword, _Leberio_ [the protector] and the dagger _Dolengûr _[hidden death]. Take them and go prepare with the others" . Eärendur looked at the blades which were presented before him. The sword was long, engraved with its name in elvish, inscribed onto the blade which was straight with a curve on the opposite side. **( A/N: I think of this like Orcrist, Thorin Oakenshield's blade). **The handle was black with golden leaves engraved into it. The dagger was similar to the design of the sword, but the blade was curved **(A/N: like a small scimitar).** Teren then turned to Haldir and continued "I will meet you after by the gate when I too, are prepared". Haldir nodded in reply before he suggested they leave.

Eärendur was standing by the gate near Haldir, there were at least 30 elves there all in full armour, that of Lórien. Amongst them was Orophin and Rumil. Haldir had not worn this armour since the battle of Helms deep. He stood out from the rest with his red cloak. Eärendur was dressed similarly except he decided to wear a blue cloak since Laessiel still had in her possession his green cloak. Haldir turned to see both his brothers stood there, he looked in Rumil's direction.  
"I thought I had told you to keep an eye on Nienna?" he asked.  
"I am brother she is right there, pointing behind him" he replied. Haldir looked in her direction, she was wearing the grey cloak and tunic that he had worn not long before when he went on patrol. She had a bag of healing supplies strapped to her back. A quiver of arrows and a bow were over her shoulder.  
"I thought I ordered you to stay here" he asked her.  
"I am the best healer, I challenge you to find anyone better. You need me, March Warden. I will follow you even if you order me not to" she replied.  
"Fine, just don't get yourself killed" he snarled.

"Why are you insistent on coming with us, Meleth nîn?" Eärendur asked Nienna who was now stood by him.  
"I wish to protect you, also Lillieth is my friend and may need me. We don't know what condition she will be in when we find her" she explained. He pulled her close to him and put his arm around her.  
"I can't lose you. I've seen how Haldir is now. I don't wish to be like that." He said to her.  
"You won't be. I can protect myself" she replied. Teren then came into view in armour which appeared to be the same design as the other elves but the plates were of pure white and his cloak was of the darkest blue and he wore no helmet. He carried with him a quiver of arrows and his bow along with his custom sword , it seemed in the design of the swords of the men of the west but with a light blue hilt and elven script along the blade that read Celeghathol [swift blade]. He approached Eärendur and Nienna.  
"I thought Haldir stood out with his red cloak Teren you seem to have bested him" Eärendur joked  
"I used to be a bit of a show men in my youth when I designed this armour, I wanted to make sure everyone on the field knew who I was when I was in battle". Teren said with a slight grin.  
"Well that is a certainty" Eärendur joked, "I am looking forward to seeing what you can do old man".  
"I am certainly looking forward to showing you young one" Teren said clapping Eärendur's shoulder.  
Haldir was now giving out orders to his troops and trying to keep his thoughts on the job at hand. But only one thought kept replaying through his mind. 'Hold on, I am coming for you, Meleth nîn'. He just wanted her back in his arms so she would be safe. Galdrith had no idea what would be coming for him, Haldir was clouded by pure rage, he would not escape and if he did, Haldir would hunt him to the ends of Middle Earth. A scout he had sent out earlier came into view and reported to Haldir. He told him he had found a trail leading form her talan and it seemed like she was being carried.  
"Right, move out" Haldir ordered to the elves stood before him. They all followed Haldir's lead in their pursuit of finding Lillieth.


	12. Chapter 12- The way you are

A/N: N: I am really, really sorry about the wait. I have been busy with uni and work. I haven't had chance to write anything really on this chapter until now. It is finally finished and since you have waited you get a long chapter. I am also writing the 13th chapter so you will get that very soon to make up for being so late. I will not leave it as long next time. Sorry again but bear with me. Please keep reading and dont forget to review! Thank you to those who are following, and thanks to those who have favourited us, it makes writing this rewarding.

I have created a poll, it is on my profile page. I would love it if you voted for your favourite O/C just to settle an argument between me and my co-writer.

I do not own any of Tolkiens' work or characters, only my own.

Lillieth woke, pain spread across her face. She tried to put her hand to the side of her face and realised her hands were bound together. The ground beneath her was moving quickly and she realised that she was moving and looking down again confirmed that she was upon a horse. She lay across the horse and hands and feet bound together to stop her from moving. The pain in her wrists had returned, the past was no longer a memory. She looked up to see Galdrith sat up right on the horse riding it. As she looked around she noticed she was in another forest, this one not Lórien. It was very familiar it was somewhere she once called home, Mirkwood. A hundred thoughts passed through her mind at once, 'How did he find her?', 'Where was he taking her?', 'Was Nienna ok?'. One thought silenced them all, a name, Haldir. She wanted to be back in the safety of his arms again. She missed the woods of Lórien which had become her home. She missed gossiping with Nienna over lunch. She missed Eärendur and even though she would never admit it she missed being called _Penig_. She was now in the hands of, what she knew now was evil. She could sense it now fully for the first time, like he wasn't trying to hide it. There was no warmth to him, his heart, black.  
"I told you, you were mine. Mine only" the ellon sat behind her spoke. "Now you have made me all the trouble of coming to bring you home".  
"I was already home, I was happy there. You bought misery to my life. I can promise you, Haldir and Eärendur will do that to yours" she replied.  
"And what will the great March Warden of Lórien or that little lost puppy that follows you around do to me?" he asked in a superior tone.  
"They will make you pay" she said just before she spat in his face. He wiped the saliva from his face with an angry expression. He then raised his hand and bought it across her face. She winced at the pain.  
"I don't know where you learnt such defiance. But I will make you forget it, you will know your place" he snapped. After a few moments he regained his composure and a sly grin appeared on his face.  
"And this, my lady is why I do not fear the March Warden." He said as he turned his horse so she could see what they were approaching. An estate was hidden within the trees and a wall surrounding it with a great wooden gate. What patrolled the walls was what terrified Lillieth, a number of Orcs. She wondered why there were still Orcs in Mirkwood and more importantly why were they guarding the estate of an elf.

Snow had started to fall from the sky so Eärendur thought it be best if they stopped and set up camp for the night. They had made good progress, they followed the tracks all the way through Lórien to the outskirts where the tracks turned to hoof prints. It led them across the Anduin River and towards Mirkwood. For two days they had not stopped and managed to follow the trail toward the outskirts of Mirkwood. Haldir did not want to stop, he knew if the snow continued to fall they would lose the trail. He also knew the longer they took to get to Lillieth, the more pain she would suffer.  
"Haldir, we need to stop. Every one of us is tired. Let's rest for tonight and set off at dawn" Eärendur pleaded.  
"No, I must carry on. She needs us" he replied. His feelings clouded his judgement. Teren who stood nearby entered the conversation.  
"My lord, you are not thinking clearly. If there is a fight at the end of the trail, we will be too tired to be of any use" Teren said.  
"You will be no use to her if you aren't rested" Eärendur tried to reason with him.  
"Fine but we will move out first thing" he finally gave in and agreed to settle for the night.  
An hour had passed and all the tents were set up and a fire in the middle. Haldir, his brothers and Eärendur sat there warming themselves upon the burning wood. The snow was still falling and was starting to stick upon the ground.  
"So what will you do to him when we arrive? Will you kill him?" asked Orophin.  
"No. I will make him suffer for what he has done. I will let him go but only so I can hunt him down again. When he has suffered enough and begs for death I may give it to him" he explained still staring into the flames of the fire. Teren walked over to where they sat, he overheard what Haldir had just said. He sat down beside his March Warden.  
"March Warden, forgive me if I am out of line. You shouldn't take vengeance in this way. Just take her back and if you have to kill him. But succumb to the emotions that you feel now will make you no better than him" Teren said in a hushed voice with his head bowed. Haldir looked at Teren for a moment before standing up and walking towards his tent not saying a word to anyone.  
"Congratulations Teren. You have seriously pissed him off now" Rumil said as he took another bite of his Lembas bread.  
"That was not my intention." Teren replied "I just do not wish to see him become the monster he is hunting.  
"He will never become like that. His duty is important to him. His mind is clouded at the moment but it will become clear again once Lillieth is in his arms" Orophin replied.  
"Not if he has hurt Lillieth which is highly likely. Haldir's fury will not be contained and neither will mine" Eärendur added. They then went to their tents to rest for the night as they knew Haldir wouldn't permit them much.

Nienna went to Eärendur's tent, she knew she shouldn't but she wanted to check if he was ok and she needed to speak to him. When she entered he was sat on his bed roll finishing eating his Lembas.  
"Do you ever stop eating?" she asked him jokingly.  
"I do so long enough to speak with you, is that not good enough" he joked. Nienna took a seat next to him on his bed roll placing an arm around him.  
"Are you okay? I know how you must feel being her protector." She asked him.  
"I am worried. We needed to rest today and we pushed ourselves too hard. To be any good to Lillieth we needed this break but….." he said before pausing for a while, silence fell upon them. Tears formed in his eyes as he turned to look at Nienna.  
"I am afraid there will be nothing left of her when we reach her" he continued.  
"The thought of Haldir will help her through. You need to stay strong for her as well. Haldir needs direction at the moment and you are there to give to him. You are from here, Mirkwood was your home. There is no doubt you will be able to find them in the morning" she explained to him.  
Eärendur looked away from Nienna to wipe the tears from his eyes, he knew she was right. Nienna sat there with a troubled look on her face.  
"Is there something bothering you, Meleth nîn?" Eärendur asked placing his hand upon her arm.  
"I am just curious about the little girl, Laessiel. What is going to happen to her?" she asked him.  
"I found her alone, her father had been killed. Everyone she knew is dead. When I found her it was like I had found myself. I want to take her in and raise her like I was myself. Except I won't push her to do anything." He said to her hoping to see approval in her eyes. This didn't seem to be the case.  
Nienna sat there in shock. What she had just been told was life changing.  
"Eärendur you cannot be serious" she exclaimed.  
"Why would I not be serious?" he asked.  
"Have you thought this through at all?" she asked him in return.  
"Of course I have" he replied.  
"Ok then maybe you can clear a few things up for me. We have only just started courting, you now wish for me to help you raise a child. A mortal child who cannot pass with us into Valinor which you know we must do eventually. You also wish for us to raise her and become attached then leave her alone in this world again. What will happen if we have children of our own?" she asked furiously.  
"Where else would she go? She has not mentioned any other family, no mother, nothing. Her father was all she had. I know what she is going through, yes she seems happy but in the middle of the night when her thoughts wonder she will cry herself to sleep. If I can help ease any of her pain I will. I will not abandon her, I'm sure the Valar will allow her passage with us. As for our own children, why would they not be happy being raised together" he argued back.  
"I cannot be a part of this. If you want to raise her you will have to do it without me" she snapped. Eärendur was shocked before his shock turned into a scowl.  
"Then go. If you abandon me now you are not the elleth I thought you were" he said to her.  
"You are the idiot I knew you were which I hoped you would have grown out of" she replied before leaving his tent.

Galdrith made his way through the gates of his estate, Lillieth still tied up in front of him as he rode through. Inside things were worse than Lillieth could have imagined, there were orcs everywhere. They raised their own small buildings inside of the estate and some were on the walls and some were doing medial jobs. It was then she noticed the main building which she guessed belonged to Galdrith. A large hulking figure made its way towards Galdrith's horse, the mere sight of him terrified Lillieth. He was an Orc but not like the others, he was at least 6 foot tall, and not hunched over or deformed like the others. He had broad shoulders and was very muscular. His black hair tied back and sharp teeth jutting out from under his bottom lip. He looked fierce in every way imaginable. Galdrith noticed Lillieth's stare.  
"Impressive isn't he? I believe he is the last of his kind, but perhaps that won't be for long. This is Sagrûrz, my captain. He is my Uruk Hai, the only survivor of his kind from the battle of Helms Deep. " he said to her as he pulled her head back by pulling her hair. It then went through her mind that this is how Haldir had managed to be injured from fighting so many creatures of this kind.  
"Sagrûrz, take our guest to her room and make sure she is properly settled. I will be along shortly" Galdrith asked his captain who's reply was something between a snarl and a chuckle.  
"As you wish, Lord Galdrith."

The creature carried her to a small room in which there was nothing but a window and shackles on the wall. He untied her and she immediately tried to run but he grabbed her round the throat and growled in her face. Baring all his pointed teeth. She backed away from him but he grabbed her arms and shackled her to the wall.  
"Don't try anything with me elf. I will rip your throat out if you try anything like that again" he snarled. It was then that Galdrith entered the room.  
"I see you are getting acquainted with Sagrûrz. That pleases me as you will be spending much time together. I will make you my _Hervess _[wife], don't forget we are still betrothed. You will be the queen at my side when I fill the void the elves will leave when they go to Valinor." He said arrogantly.  
"_Bedo a Udun_! [Go to hell!] I will never marry you. You will not be kind of anything when Haldir and Eärendur kill you" she said defiantly.  
"Ah yes, Eärendur will no doubt come, but he has no idea what awaits in this estate. If I am correct he will have no help. The great March Warden of Lórien would not waste his time and leave his home undefended to come and find you. I find it strange that you are obsessed with this idea" he spat.  
"Oh Eärendur will have help. As for Haldir he will come for his betrothed" she proclaimed. Galdrith looked shocked before his expression turned sour. He clenched his fists together and lashed out at her, hitting her hard in the stomach, so much that she doubled over in pain, gasping for breath.  
"You and the March Warden? How is that _tofn onnen hû_ [low born dog] better than me? I will rip his heart out and show it to you. Before you watch your little pet, Eärendur die too" he snarled through clenched teeth. Lillieth then burst out laughing, much to the surprise of Galdrith.  
"And what is so funny?" he snapped.  
"I used to be afraid of you, terrified of what you would do. But now that you are here all I feel is disgust and hate, saura deleb le uuan [you putrid loathsome monster]. I do not fear the physical pain anymore; there is nothing you can do to me. I am happy with Haldir, I will suffer in pain until I am reunited with him." She explained to him still laughing. He grabbed her face with force and made her look at him.  
"Then I will have to find new ways to cause you pain. I will let him nowhere near you." He growled before walking from the room with Sagrûrz following him, locking the door behind them. She sighed before a tear rolled down her face, she wanted him to feel as though she didn't fear him. She thought of Eärendur and what he would say to him, even though what she said was mild to what he would say, the thought made her smile. She wanted Haldir, she wanted to be in his arms safe.

Sagrûrz and Galdrith stood in his study looking over the map of Mirkwood and the surrounding area.  
"Have any more came in since I have been away?" Galdrith asked his captain.  
"Yes, 20 my lord. All of them Orcs. I don't understand why these orcs are flocking to you, you found me half dead on the outskirts of Fangorn. I had nowhere else to go and you took me in, that's why I serve you but there were already orcs here when I arrived. Why would they follow you, you are an elf" he asked his master.  
"Ah of course, you wouldn't know would you? The orcs that were her before you knew of my existence and my allegiance to Sauron." He explained.  
"I do not understand" Sagrûrz asked him.  
"Fine, I will explain it to you. This has always been my family home, I am an high born elf. But you see, this place is close to where the evil once stood in Mirkwood. You know of this place." He asked.  
"Dol Guldur" Sagrûrz added.  
"Correct. My father was stubborn, he refused to move our ancestral home away from the evil. I assumed we were going to be wiped out, but maybe someone came up with a better plan. You see I was always drawn into that place, I would stare in its direction for hours. I never felt like I fitted in with elven life when all I wanted was power. I went to explore one day when I was set upon by two orcs, they bound me and took me to Dol Guldur. I thought I was going to be a meal for them. Imagine my surprise when I was deposited in front of one of the Nazgûl. The one, known as the witch king said that my feä was distorted, but he could teach me to hide that. He also offered me the power I seeked, in return I would keep a watchful eye on Mirkwood and report anything useful to Dol Guldur." Galdrith explained to the Uruk Hai stood before him.  
"So they corrupted you?" Sagrûrz asked.  
"No they allowed me to be myself" he chuckled. "That is why the orcs are coming here. I am the only master they have left. When word spreads of attacks on the elves, even more orcs will flock here. Maybe even the goblins of Moria. If that happens we can start rebuilding your race. Once the elves leave we will take dominance of these woods." The Uruk Hai smiled.  
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, my lord" he said to his master.  
"Good, now how many orcs do we have altogether in camp?" Galdrith asked.  
"80, my lord. All equipped and ready." He replied.  
"Excellent, I'd like to see the great March Warden get in here" Galdrith laughed.


	13. Chapter 13- Blood and snow, Part I

** A/N: Hey again guys, You'll be pleased to know that this chapter is up. Really hope you like it and please please review!**

**I do not own any of Tolkien's work or characters, only my own. **

Eärendur was shaking the snow had continued to fall all night and there was now no trail to follow. But he was from these woods. If his memory served him correctly, there was an abandoned estate in a clearing not too far away. This seemed like the perfect place to look first. Eärendur heard a shout behind him and realised it was Haldir.  
"How far away are we?" An impatient Haldir asked him.  
"I don't know, you'll just have to bear with me. It's hard to navigate in the snow" He replied.  
"That is not good enough. You assured me you could find this place, that you could find where he had taken her" Haldir snapped in reply. That was it for Eärendur, he turned to face the March Warden.  
"I am sick and tired of your attitude. We all want to find Lillieth, not just you. We are trying our best but I can't make this journey go any faster just because the great March Warden wants it to" he snapped back. Haldir clenched his fists but Nienna placed her hand on his shoulder and glared at Eärendur.  
"Stop arguing, it won't help us find Lillieth any quicker. Lillieth wouldn't want you at each other's throats. You're acting like children" Nienna scorned at them. Eärendur scoffed and walked off in a sulk while Haldir nodded to Nienna.  
"Right, come on let's move out again." Haldir ordered to his company.

Lillieth sat there slumped against the wall her hands still shackled. She was tired, hungry, thirsty and cold. He clothes in tatters from the journey and the actions of Galdrith. All the energy had drained from her, she was losing hope of being rescued. Maybe Galdrith was right, maybe Haldir wasn't coming, maybe he just felt sorry for her and that is why he was so nice to her. She mentally cursed herself, that is how he wants her to think, to turn her against her friends. He then entered the room holding a goblet and a piece of bread.  
"Eat" he ordered as he put the bread to her mouth. She took a small bite and realised it was stale and it was slightly covered in mould. She spat it out.  
"Not to your taste, my lady?" he said, patronising her.  
"Many things here are not to my taste." She spat.  
"I can offer you some better food in return for something." He said a sly grin appearing on his face.  
"And what would that be?" she asked in disgrace.  
"A kiss, my lady." He said as her leant in to kiss her. It looked like she was going to comply but when he neared her she spat in his face. He growled then picked up the goblet of water he was going to give to her and poured it out in front of her and throws the goblet at her hitting her in the chest.  
"You're doing this to yourself. If you would be a little compliant, you would get better treatment" he said to her, wiping his face with a cloth.  
"I'd rather be tortured than kiss you" she snapped at him.  
"That could be arranged." He smiled as he stroked her face before grabbing it and slamming her head into the wall behind her, knocking her out. He smiled and left the room.

Haldir and his company approached the edge of the tree line and the abandoned estate came into view. Contrary to what Eärendur had said it was not abandoned, orcs patrolled the walls. They knew that this had to be where Lillieth was.  
"I am going in, I am going to find that scum and kill him" Haldir stated.  
"Are you an idiot? You will get slaughtered. What about the rest of us. We didn't come here for a holiday, we came to fight. We need a plan." Eärendur said as he placed a hand on Haldir's chest to hold him back. Haldir bowed his head and growled in frustration but he knew he was right.  
Teren walked forward to speak with Haldir and Eärendur.  
"I'd like to propose a plan. I suggest a few climb the walls, and open the gates under the cover of night which should be in a few hours." Teren suggested.  
"And how do you plan us to do that?" Rumil questioned him.  
"I have rope in my bag, you can climb the walls with it. Once inside we split into two teams. Team 1 stays on the wall to cover the others who will go into the middle of the estate. We will make our way to the main building taking out any orcs that get in our way." Teren explained.  
"You forget we have no idea how many orcs are in there" Eärendur stated.  
"Yes but that is a risk we will have to take. These elves were handpicked, they are the best in Lórien and they have Haldir to lead them. They will be a match for any rabble of orcs in the estate" Teren replied.  
"Fine I agree, we will do this plan of yours, Teren" Eärendur said to him.  
"Orophin and Rumil can lead 10, including Nienna to the wall who can cover us. I will lead the rest into the courtyard including Eärendur and Teren." They all agreed to this plan and settled down to wait for dark.

Darkness fell upon the forest and it was suggested they make their way to the estate. Orophin and Rumil went forward, they were the best climbers. They took Teren's elven rope with them so they could climb the wall. They approached the wall and threw It over a crenulation before climbing.  
There was an Orc on the wall with his back to Rumil as he climbed over the wall. He quickly silenced him with his dagger before pulling Orophin onto the wall with him. They made their way down to the ground so that they could open the gate. When it opened the others quickly approached the gate. When they walked through the gate Haldir met up with his brothers.  
"Any trouble?" Haldir asked them.  
"Just one Orc on the wall. These sentries wouldn't notice us even if Orophin relieved himself on their heads" Rumil joked. A screech came from the other side of the wall, an Orc had noticed their presence. Nienna fired an arrow to silence him but it was too late other Orcs were now screeching in response.  
"Do you always speak too soon, Rumil?" Eärendur said sarcastically. Rumil just shrugged it off.  
"We haven't got time for this, split up into your teams. They are coming" Haldir ordered.  
Orophin and Rumil drew their bows and lead their team including Nienna to the top of the wall. They immediately started to fire at the orcs taking down any they saw. Haldir lead his team closer to the estate, dispatching any orcs that came near them. Teren was like a blur of white and blue, his movements were fluid, he seemed to take care of any foe that came near him effortlessly. Eärendur drew his sword and dagger and followed closely behind Haldir with the other elves in their team. They had made it near to the entrance of the estate's main building when they seemed to be swarmed by orcs in all directions. Haldir's team grouped together and formed a circle to fight the enemies all around them.  
"Well they are awake now." Eärendur said ducking under and orcs swing, before opening its chest with his blade.  
"You think with all the things going on right now, remarks like that would be last thing on your mind" Haldir said while decapitating another orc.

Galdrith stormed into the room where Lillieth was chained against the wall and kicked the goblet that was in front of her from the previous time he was here. She stirred at her lousy state to look up at Galdrith.  
"It seems as though your knight in shining armour is here." He snarled.  
"I…..told…you…..he…..would come" she managed to let the words escape from her mouth. As the blood dripped down her face from the wound he had inflicted on her earlier.  
"Then I should go greet him." Galdrith said as he pulled the bow from off his shoulder before heading out of the room. He met Sagrûrz in the corridor, he was heading outside to join the fight.  
"I need you to guard this corridor, do not let anyone pass. Do you understand me" Galdrith ordered him.  
"Yes, my lord." He replied taking up his place in the corridor near the entrance of the estate.  
Galdrith climbed the stairs inside to go to one of the front windows.

The fight in the courtyard had intensified. Three of Haldir's company had fallen, they were still hard pressed even with support from the walls there were too many orcs. Haldir then noticed the arrows had stopped he saw that a few orcs had made their way onto the wall and were stopping the other group from firing. He carried on fighting swinging left and right, killing as many orcs as he could. He thought he heard somebody call his name but he ignored it to carry on fighting. It was then his elf ears picked up on something. A bow being drawn close by, and not from the direction of the wall. He looked towards the estate to see an ellon with grey hair release an arrow in his direction, it happened too quickly for him to react. He then felt an impact in his chest and he fell towards the floor. He couldn't feel any pain, which he thought was odd. He looked down and horrified by what he saw. The arrow was there but wasn't in him. It was sticking in the back of an ellon, who must have flung himself as Haldir to protect him. To his horror he knew who it was.  
"Eärendur!" he cried out.


	14. Chapter 14- Blood and Snow, Part II

**A/N: Really sorry that it took so long to post this chapter. I have been busy and was away for the weekend, but I am back now! Hope it will be worth your wait. Enjoy! Don't forget to review and vote in my poll on my page, please. **

Nienna heard the release of the arrow from the bow and turned to see what had happened. To her horror she saw Eärendur clutching Haldir with the arrow in his back.  
"Eärendur, No!" Nienna screamed frantically. She noticed the grey haired ellon in the window notching another arrow. In anger she fired a shot at him, it stuck in the window pane to the side of him. He quickly glanced in the direction the arrow had come from before he retreated back into the estate. The elves around her were still fighting with the orcs who had made it onto the wall. She looked around trying to find Orophin. She saw him at the top of the steps killing any Orc that tried to climb them.  
"Orophin, Orophin!" she shouted. He turned to look at her.  
"Please we need to get down there, Eärendur has been wounded. He needs my care!" Nienna pleaded with him. He nodded.  
"Everyone with me, we need to fight our way to the others" he ordered to the other elves. They killed any Orc left on the wall before making their way down to Haldir's group. Orophin and Rumil led the way, also desperate to get to their brother.

Haldir looked down at the ellon who lay on top of him and lifted him up slowly to place him on the floor on his side so he wouldn't break the arrow and to ease his pain.  
"Eärendur, why? Why would you throw away your life to protect me?" Haldir asked him. Eärendur gritted his teeth from the pain due to the arrow in his back, as he slowly lifted his head to look up at Haldir.  
"Because if you died now, Lillieth would never forgive me. Plus I'm actually starting to like you. I can see how much you love her" He replied before slumping his head back to the ground.  
"Just stay with me Eärendur; I will get you a healer. You can't die here, I will not let you." Haldir said frantically to the ellon who had just saved his life. Eärendur chuckled slightly.  
"Even you cannot command death, March Warden".

Orophin and Rumil's group had fought their way to the centre. The elves in their group reinforced their surrounded comrades together they fought off the Orcs while Nienna made her way to Eärendur's side.  
"Haldir what happened?" she asked him, tears streaming from her eyes.  
"He saved my life. He threw himself in front of the arrow, please you have to help him" he replied. She nodded then tended to him. Haldir regrouped with his brothers and suggested they try and break through so they could make their way to the building. He wanted his brothers to stay behind and help make a stand on the steps of the main building. They nodded and both grabbed Eärendur ready to move him to safety so Nienna could help him. Haldir turned to Teren.  
"I would like you to accompany me inside the building to retrieve Lillieth, the others can hold outside. First we have to make it to the steps before the main building." Haldir asked Teren.  
"I will come with you. We can get the others to help us fight our way through" Teren replied. Haldir nodded and clapped Teren on the shoulder before moving to the centre of the circle again.  
"Push forward towards the estate; we need to get to the door" Haldir ordered his troops.  
They all nodded and fought the orcs towards the steps of the building. When they had made it through the crowd of Orcs and to the top of the steps, Haldir ordered his troops to break the circle and form two lines at the top of the stairs. Swordsmen in front archers behind. They quickly and efficiently deployed this formation. Eärendur was placed safely behind the two lines with Nienna tending to him.  
"Orophin, Rumil you need to hold them here. I am going inside with Teren" Haldir ordered, they nodded to their brother in response and began giving out orders of their own to the troops.

Haldir and Teren made their way through the door and into the corridor where they were met by the Uruk Hai captain who stood guard. He was in full armour except for a helmet. He also held a shield and sword out ready to meet them and he snarled in their direction bearing his sharp teeth as they approached.  
"I don't have time for this" Haldir said angrily.  
"Then find another way around, I will take care of him" Teren replied calmly. Haldir nodded and made his way down a corridor to his left. Teren held his sword out in front of him and stared down the creature before him.  
"I thought your kind were all dead?" Teren asked the Uruk Hai.  
"Not all, and soon to be reborn" he replied.  
"I doubt that somehow in fact I'll make sure of it . You see I was there at the Hornburg, and I consider it an honour to extinguish the last of your disgusting race." Teren said, his gaze fixed on the Uruk Hai.  
"Come and try little elf" the Uruk Hai snarled banging his sword against his shield.  
The Uruk lunged at Teren bringing his sword down heavily at the elf. Teren blocked the strike and struck back only to meet the uruk's shield, his sword was flung away. The Uruk roared and attacked again, this time Teren dodged the blow and bought his elbow into the Uruk's face sending him staggering back. Teren took this opportunity to pull a spear that was hanging on display on a nearby wall and flung it at his foe. The spear pierced his shield and barely missed Sagrûrz's arm. With the spear impaled on his shield it was useless so Sagrûrz abandoned it and looked up at the elf in front of him.  
"HA! Not bad elf I see I'll actually have to try in this fight. Not like many of your kin at the Hornburg, you actually have some skill" the Uruk roared.  
"I was thinking the same of you. Most of your kin were witless animals that I slaughtered" Teren replied with a smirk.  
"Tell me your name so I know who's life I ended today." The Uruk chuckled.  
"My name is Teren of Lórien and yours monster?" Teren replied  
"Sagrûrz, now come I grow tired of talking" he shouted before again lunging at Teren swinging his blade. Teren moved backwards expertly blocking every strike, the only problem was being in the tight corridor. His movement was restricted and the Uruk's brute strength had the advantage. Teren was knocked off guard by Sagrûrz's armoured fist slamming in to his face. This knocked him against the wall. The Uruk then tried to end the fight by trying to slash Teren's head but he ducked under the strike. They turned again to face each other. Sagrûrz attacked again forcing Teren to block down low, this is when Teren made his move. He bought his fist down on the Uruk's wrist no doubt breaking it. Sagrûrz howled in pain and dropped his blade before Teren brought up his own sword separating the Uruk's head from his shoulders as a spray of black blood covered him. Sagrûrz's head rolled to the floor.  
Teren looked down at his armour now covered in the black blood.  
"White really wasn't a good choice" he joked before moving down the corridor to catch up with Haldir.

~~~~~~~  
Haldir was consumed with rage, the fact that his beloved was taken from him and now that Eärendur may have died for him. He had to admit that even though they didn't like each other at first, he was starting to grow fond of him. He needed to find Lillieth; he hoped that she was ok. He ran up the corridor where some orcs were patrolling, he decapitated them easily making his way further. He then heard a gentle sobbing coming from one of the rooms, this he knew was Lillieth. He located the room and tried to open the door, to his dismay it was locked.  
"I am here Meleth nîn" Haldir said softly through the wood of the door. Lillieth barely had strength to move so she could not reply. This worried Haldir, he hoped she was ok. If anything happened to her it would send Haldir over the edge. It was then that Galdrith walked up behind Haldir before he turned around to see the tainted ellon.  
"So, here is the great March warden of Lórien. Nothing special I see, impressive to have defeated my orcs but you will not enter that room" Galdrith said with in an arrogant tone.  
"I wouldn't be so sure about that" Haldir said trying to grasp Galdrith around the throat, but Galdrith slammed his head against the wall. Haldir dropped his sword and Galdrith kicked it away from his before bringing his knee into Galdrith's stomach. Haldir cried out in pain.  
"What does she see in you? You have nothing on me" Galdrith asked him.  
"I treat her like she deserves to be" Haldir spat back.  
"All elliths are poison. I am treating her like they all should be" Galdrith uttered back. This infuriated Haldir and he swung his fist into Galdrith's jaw, this made blood drip from his mouth.  
"You are the one that is poison" Haldir shouted before slamming him into the door of the room where Lillieth was shackled, breaking the wood into pieces. Galdrith landed on the floor in front of Lillieth. Haldir looked at her in shock. She was shackled to the wall like a slave, her skin pale and all colour lost from her cheeks. Her face was stained with blood and her clothes were in tatters. This left her skin exposed which was covered in bruises. Haldir felt like crying seeing his betrothed that way but he had Galdrith to deal with. He launched his foot into his stomach making Galdrith scream out in pain. In reply to this Haldir kicked Galdrith's shoulder forcing him onto his back before bringing his foot down hard onto his face. Blood dripped from his nose, Haldir had surely broken it. It gave him pleasure to see his faced stained with blood the way Lillieth's appeared to be. He then picked him up by the throat slamming him into the wall causing a wound to open on the back of his head like he had inflicted upon Lillieth.  
"You will pay for this!." Haldir roared bringing his fist into Galdrith's face. Haldir then heard the slightest whisper behind him.  
"Haldir…." Lillieth moaned. He then ran over to where Lillieth was shackled leaving Galdrith in a blood soaked heap behind him.  
"I am here Meleth Nîn, do not worry" Haldir said while stroking her face softly. Lillieth was still drowsy but managed to open her eyes fully to see him crouching before her.  
"You really are here" she smiled. Haldir smiled in return before her eyes widened in shock.  
"Haldir!" She screamed. Haldir then felt a searing pain in his shoulder, Galdrith had dragged himself over to them and plunged his dagger into him.  
"Do not touch my property, March Warden. She is mine and will remain so." Galdrith spat while twisting the dagger slightly in Haldir's shoulder. He screamed out in pain before he managed to bring his elbow up to meet Galdrith's face. Galdrith fell backwards, releasing his dagger. Haldir was on his hands and knees in front of Lillieth. He was again filled with hate and rage for the ellon and this made him forget momentarily about the pain. He reached up and pulled the dagger from his shoulder before turning on Galdrith who had started to crawl out of the room. He was out in the hall when Haldir again kicked him in the side before picking him up by the throat placing his arm around his neck, the dagger in his hand.  
"This is for her and Eärendur. She is not your property, she is not yours, nor will she ever. I love her and I will treat her right." Haldir said before he bought the dagger across Galdrith's throat, slitting his throat. Galdrith gargled as blood poured out of his throat and mouth. He stumbled towards one of the large windows in the hallway, turning once more to see Haldir as he leaned against it. There wasn't an ounce of pity in Haldir's eyes as he looked upon the elf whose life was draining from him.  
"I hope the Valar tear your soul apart" Haldir hissed before kicking him in the chest sending him flying through the window, falling to the ground below. He walked back towards the room where Lillieth was to find Teren walking towards him. Teren looked over at the March Wardens appearance.  
"So what did I miss?" Teren asked.  
"I paid him no mercy. It is the Valar who must act now" Haldir replied before placing his hand on Teren's shoulder.


	15. Chapter 15- The strength of love

** A/N: Hey guys, so chapter 15 is finally up, i'm sorry it took so long to write! i hope you enjoy- please review!**

**The next chapter will be a nice chapter- i will try and put it up as soon as possible!**

**Thanks for sticking with me! **

Outside the snow had begun to fall again, the courtyard would be completely white except it was covered with the bodies of orcs and stained with their black blood. Rumil had glanced over the remaining soldiers, they were all tired most stained with the blood from their enemies as well as their own blood from injury. They had finally defeated the Orcs and were taking a well-deserved rest on the steps of the manor. Rumil then noticed his brother who walked towards him, he then stopped and noticed an Orc still alive on the floor. He quickly plunged his already stained sword into the heart of the orc before continuing to walk over to his brother.  
"Well that's all of them then" smirked Orophin.  
"We did well my brother, we must check on Eärendur now, he was the most gravely wounded. After all he did save our brother's life" Rumil replied solemnly.

Nienna sat at Eärendur's side, the arrow had been removed and she had cleaned the wound as well as placing a salve to it to aid in the healing. Eärendur was shirtless on the steps as Nienna was beginning to bind the wound.  
"I was so worried about you, I thought I was going to lose you." Nienna sobbed.  
"I thought I already had lost you" he said stroking the side of her face.  
"Eärendur, I…." Nienna said before he cut her off.  
"It's ok I understand, I asked a lot of you. It was too much to ask, but that doesn't mean I have changed my mind about Laessiel." He said to her. Nienna bowed her head not looking at Eärendur.  
"I know, I didn't think you would. It's just so much to take on" she explained to him.  
Eärendur cupped both sides of her face with his hands and stared into her eyes.  
"Thank you for coming for me when I needed you. I will always love you…..But I know this is where our path together ends." He said to her, tears forming in his eyes. He held them back.  
"I will always be there for you if you need me. I will always love you" she replied as tears fell from her eyes. The pain was too much so she decided to go and check the other wounded as she now knew that Eärendur was out of danger. The feeling inside her, wouldn't go away. Her heart was breaking.

Haldir composed himself outside the room where Lillieth was, with Teren at his side. Teren placed his hand on Haldir's shoulder stopping him from going inside.  
"This moment should be between just you two. I will go and prepare for our departure. There may be something here in this mansion to help us" Teren said before bowing to Haldir and leaving. It was then that Haldir entered the room to see the sight that made his heart break all over again. His beloved so lifeless and tortured, made him angry but he vowed he would never let anything harm her again. She was still shackled to the wall and the only way he could free her was to cut the chains free with his sword and find the key later. He had a feeling he knew where it was and at that moment he regretting kicking Galdrith out of the window. Then something caught his eye on the floor, it was a small black key, Galdrith must have dropped it while they were fighting. He picked it up and tried it in the lock of the shackles, luckily it was the right one and he freed her arms.  
He cradled her in his arms, she didn't respond, she was too weak. He took his canteen full of water from his belt and placed it to her lips so the cool liquid would slide down her throat easily. She drank but there was no response from her. He held her tightly hoping he wasn't too late.  
"I am here Meleth nîn, please wake up, I need you. You are the light in my darkness, I can't go on without you. I love you, don't leave me alone" Haldir whispered before placing a soft kiss on her lifeless lips. She stirred a little but never woke up. He then scanned her body for injuries, bruises once again discoloured her wrists and this reminded him of the time in the woods when he first noticed the ones she had before. He kissed them in the same way, hoping they would fade. Her wrists weren't the only place her skin was marked, there wasn't a space where her skin wasn't discoloured. Her cheeks were drained of the colour he was once captivated by. She was also covered in her own blood. He then placed a hand behind her head to hold it up when he noticed the deep wound in the back of her head, he used water to clean the wound which Nienna would tend to later. It was then she opened her eyes to see Haldir holding her close to him, she smiled as she felt familiar arms wrapped around her.  
"Haldir…." Lillieth managed to say. Haldir snapped out of his daze to bring his gaze to meet hers, colour started to fill her cheeks once more. He pulled her closer to him in an embrace before she whimpered in pain.  
"I am sorry, Meleth nîn. I didn't mean to hurt you. I thought I had lost you" Haldir whispered as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I will let nothing harm you again. You are safe now".  
"Galdrith?" Lillieth asked in horror of her memory.  
"He is dead, he can no longer hurt you, I made sure of that" he smiled. She seemed to relax in his arms and she smoothed his hair with her hands, feeling the softness between her fingers. She then mustered up some energy to put her arms around his shoulders. As she did she noticed blood covered her hand.  
"Haldir, you're wounded!" she cried.  
"You are more important at the moment, Meleth nîn" he said as he picked her up in his arms, hissing slightly at the pain in his shoulder.  
"You can't carry me like this with that shoulder" she sighed. Haldir placed her on her feet and she stumbled into him.  
"See, you cannot walk on your own, I am fine. I care more about your wellbeing" he said as he placed his cloak around her body before picking her up again. He carried her through the mansion towards the courtyard.  
"You will need this it is cold" he said to her.  
It was then a thought came to Lillieth, she knew Haldir wouldn't come alone, he was stubborn but the others wouldn't let him come alone.  
"Who else came with you?" Lilleth asked her beloved.  
"My brothers, Nienna to help the wounded, 30 soldiers and Eärendur…." He paused remembering that he was wounded in his defence. "Eärendur was injured, he took an arrow to the back. I don't know how he is" he added. A cry escaped Lillieth's lips as she threw her arms around Haldir and sobbed into his shoulder. It was then they reached outside and they could hear his voice. They both sighed a sigh of relief as they noticed a shirtless Eärendur lying on the stairs that were before them. As they stepped through the door snow fell upon them and the other elves noticed them and started to cheer. All around them all they could hear was chanting.  
"Haldir!, Haldir!, Haldir!".  
"Thank you for coming for me, I would be lost without you now" she said to her betrothed.  
"You never have to know what that feels like again" he said before embracing her with a passionate kiss and another cheer went up.

A voice then broke through the cheers, it was Eärendur.  
"This is great. I lie dying in the snow and he gets all the credit" he said sarcastically. Haldir turned to look at him and smiled. He went to place Lillieth on a horse before he went back over to Eärendur still lying on the floor. Haldir crouched down by the side of him before placing his hand on his chest.  
"Thank you, Eärendur. Without you I wouldn't be here and neither would Lillieth. I owe you, brother" he thanked holding out his hand, Eärendur shook it in response.  
"Just look after Lillieth, that is enough for me. But, you have already proved that." Eärendur replied.  
"We best get ready to head back to Lórien. You need to be healed fully" Haldir said before walking off to help his brothers prepare for their return.  
"Brother! It is glad to see you back to yourself" Orophin said patting Haldir on the back. Rumil agreed.  
"It is good to be back, I see you have taken care of the orcs. Go burn the mansion down and ill sort out the horses" Haldir ordered.  
"Yes brother, you most definitely are back." Rumil laughed before going to sort out the mansion with his brother.

Everything was now set for their departure. 10 of their soldiers had fell on the battle field and they lay in a wagon ready for burials back in Lórien. They saluted them and paid their respects to them, especially Haldir. He felt guilty for their death but they would always remain loyal to their March Warden and of Lórien, this gave him some comfort. He was glad he had Lillieth back, without her he would have faded like she had but their connected feä's helped keep them both strong. Eärendur was injured but he seemed to be getting stronger, thanks to Nienna. They didn't speak to each other after their talk on the steps but they knew they would always love each other, that gave them both hope. Lillieth was still weak but with Haldir by her side she kept strong, she would be healed along with Eärendur. They then left to make their way back to the safety of Lórien, they could now look forward to less threats from Orcs.


End file.
